New Delhi, July 14 -- FONTAINEBLEAU, France - The planes came from the wrong direction. Two waterbombing aircraft that typically patrol the fire-prone hills of Provence were scrambled northward on Sunday, crossing hundreds of kilometres to dump water on a wildfire in the Paris region - something France's firefighting commanders said had never before been necessary.

The Fontainebleau forest, approximately 60 kilometres southeast of Paris and home to one of France's best-known royal palaces, was burning across more than 800 hectares by early Monday, fanned by hot winds and a sustained heatwave that has gripped Western Europe for weeks. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said forest fires had already consumed 17,000 hectares across France in 2...