Marseille, France. Firefighters were battling several wildfires across southern France on Thursday as strong winds and parched conditions following Europe’s recent heatwave fueled the blazes. Authorities said three fires had burned a combined 1,210 hectares, with no casualties reported.
Fires burn across southern France
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said two of the three blazes broke out on the western edge of the Mediterranean port city of Marseille. The largest fire was burning in the Aude administrative department near the border with Spain, where about 900 hectares had been scorched.
Firefighting efforts face difficult conditions
Local authorities said high winds were making it harder for 800 firefighters to contain the fire in Aude. Near Marseille, firefighters were working to control a small blaze in Rognac near the city’s airport and had brought another nearby fire covering 260 hectares in Lancon-Provence under control.
Smoke and evacuations
There were no casualties, according to local officials. A Reuters witness said an acrid smell of smoke hung over the area, and pilots on at least one flight landing in Marseille reassured passengers that the smell was not coming from the aircraft.
Further east, in Frejus in the Var department, about 35 kilometers from Cannes, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from six campsites on Wednesday because of a nearby forest fire.
Heat and dry conditions raise wildfire risk
The World Meteorological Organization warned last week that the record temperatures that affected Western Europe for more than a week in late June would increase wildfire risk because of sustained high temperatures, very low humidity and dry vegetation.
France’s weather office has warned that another spell of extreme heat could hit next week. Health authorities estimate the previous heatwave may have caused around 1,000 excess deaths in the country during record-breaking temperatures.
