Massive French wildfire contained but 'not under control'
The fire near the Mediterranean coast has ravaged a vast area of the southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others.
"The fire is contained but ... until Sunday evening the fire will not be under control," said Christophe Magny, chief of the region's firefighter unit.
Authorities warned that Sunday's forecasted hot, dry winds , similar to those when the fire began , and a heatwave alert with temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius would keep the some 1,400 firefighters mobilised on high alert.
"The firefighters will do their utmost before the return of the tramontane" this weekend, the president of the Aude departmental council, Helene Sandragne, told AFP, referring to a northerly wind that regularly blows through the area.
The blaze, the largest in at least 50 years, tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said, revising an earlier estimate of 17,000 hectares.
About 2,000 people were evacuated, though local authorities allowed them to return home on Friday evening.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames.
Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury.
Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Jordan Times
4 days ago
- Jordan Times
Thousands battle Greece fires as heatwave bakes Europe
PATRAS, Greece — Greece on Wednesday battled to contain more than 20 wildfires including one menacing its third-largest city Patras as a heatwave stoked blazes and forced the evacuation of thousands in southern Europe. Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and Britain have this week wilted in high temperatures that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. Since dawn on Wednesday, 4,850 firefighters and 33 planes were mobilised across Greece on what promised to be "a very difficult day", fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. A fire near the ancient Mycenaean archaeological site of Voudeni, just seven kilometres (four miles) from Patras, threatened forested zones and homes, and the area was covered by a thick cloud of smoke, an AFP journalist reported. Fierce wind "is hampering the task of water bombers, and is making collecting water at sea more difficult", the president of the firefighter officers' union, Kostas Tsigkas, told public broadcaster ERT. In the western Achaia region in the Peloponnese, to which the coastal city of Patras belongs, around 20 villages were evacuated on Tuesday. Other fronts were burning on the popular tourist island of Zante and the Aegean island of Chios, scarred by a huge wildfire in June that ravaged more than 4,000 hectares. The Greek coastguard said it had helped evacuate nearly 80 people from Chios and near Patras. The national ambulance service reported 52 hospitalisations from Achaia, Chios and the western town of Preveza, including "a small number of firefighters", mostly for respiratory problems and minor burns. Temperatures are due to come close to 40C in parts of western Greece on Wednesday, including the northwest Peloponnese, national weather service EMY forecast. After Greece requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to bolster its resources, leftist opposition party Syriza criticised the conservative government's preparation for the fires that hit every year. Greece needed "a bold redistribution of resources in favour of civil protection", an "emphasis on prevention", better coordination and new technologies in its civil protection system, Syriza said. 'Worst breeding ground' At the other end of the Mediterranean, wildfires continued to dominate the news in Spain, where cooler temperatures and greater humidity were expected to help control blazes in which two people have died. Authorities in the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman mining site, said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes. Bushy undergrowth and searing temperatures that have baked Spain for almost two weeks had created "the worst possible breeding ground for this situation", Castile and Leon's civil protection head Irene Cortes said. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares across Spain this year, more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024. Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 1,800 firefighters and around 20 aircraft against five major blazes, with efforts focused on a blaze in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday. Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed locals volunteering to help the firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke. "It's scary... but we are always ready to help each other," a mask-wearing farmer told Sic Noticias television, holding a spade in his hand. Italian firefighters had extinguished a blaze that burned for five days on the famed Mount Vesuvius and spewed plumes of smoke over the Naples area. In Britain, temperatures were expected to peak at 34C in the country's fourth heatwave of the summer. The UK Health Security Agency warned of "significant impacts" on health and social care services for the parts of central and southeastern England where the harshest heat was forecast.
Al Bawaba
5 days ago
- Al Bawaba
Video: Indonesia's Marapi volcano erupts, sending 1,600-meter-high volcanic ash
Published August 12th, 2025 - 09:48 GMT ALBAWABA - Indonesia's Marapi volcano has erupted again on Tuesday morning in West Sumatra province, shooting 1,600 meters of volcanic ash into the air, according to local Indonesian reports. An officer for the Mount Marapi Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PGA) said, "An eruption occurred at Mount Marapi in West Sumatra at 8:39 a.m. local time, with the ash column observed at approximately 1,600 meters above the summit." Authorities in Indonesia haven't sounded the alarm yet. However, residents were told to stay on alert and wear medical masks to prevent respiratory problems due to the volcanic ash. Additionally, while Mount Marapi's alert level remains at Level II, authorities warned of sudden eruptions that could produce volcanic materials and urged residents to keep a three-kilometer distance from the volcano. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
Al Bawaba
7 days ago
- Al Bawaba
Powerful quake strikes western Turkey, prompting urgent safety inspections
Published August 9th, 2025 - 05:47 GMT ALBAWABA - The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) says that on Sunday evening, a strong earthquake reading 6.1 on the Richter scale hit the western province of Balıkesir in Turkey. They shook at 7:53 p.m. local time, and the epicenter was in the Sindirgi area of Balıkesir. The AFAD said the quake happened 11 kilometers below the surface, while the GFZ said it happened 10 kilometers below the surface and had a value of 6.19. According to local media, the earthquake was felt in several provinces, including Istanbul. As a safety measure, people in different neighborhoods left their homes and met in parks. The Istanbul Governor's Office said in a statement that some people who felt the tremors went to open places. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X (which used to be Twitter) that AFAD emergency teams had been sent to Istanbul and the towns nearby to do checks. He made it clear that there had been no deaths or major injury reported yet. — Brian's Breaking News and Intel (@intelFromBrian) August 10, 2025 Turkey is on a lot of busy fault lines, so earthquakes happen there a lot. This earthquake happened at a time when people were more aware of earthquakes. The police are still keeping a close eye on things and have asked people to stay cool while safety checks are done. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
