France's largest wildfire this summer contained, one dead, 13 injured
'The objective is to stabilise the fire' and halt its progress by the end of the day, said Christophe Magny, chief of the Aude department's firefighter unit.
The fire advanced much more slowly overnight to Thursday than at the start, when it engulfed around 1000ha per hour, according to the authorities in the nearby city of Narbonne.
Weather conditions had become more favourable after two days of strong and changing winds that made the blaze's progress difficult to predict.
However, the fire will not be 'declared extinguished for several days', said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department. 'There is still a lot of work to be done.'
A 65-year-old woman, who had refused to evacuate, was found dead in her scorched house, while 13 people were injured, 11 of them firefighters.
'Unprecedented catastrophe'
The wildfire is a 'catastrophe on an unprecedented scale', Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Wednesday during a visit to the affected region.
'What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought.'
The blaze has burned around 17,000ha.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, the village hardest hit by the fire, thick smoke rose from the pine hills overlooking the vineyards where dry grass was ablaze.
On the ground, a fire truck and several fire engines were circulating near the flames, with a water-bombing helicopter approaching the blaze.
'If we don't get help, we will not recover... It makes me sick, this vineyard, all those years of work, gone up in smoke in an hour,' Fabien Vergnes, 52, told AFP on his property in Tournissan, a few kilometres from Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.
The fire is France's biggest so far in a summer that has already seen around 9000 fires, mainly along the Mediterranean coast, according to the emergency management service.
An investigation has been opened into the cause, local officials said, but there were no firm leads so far.
The Aude department in particular has seen an increase in areas burned in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the uprooting of vineyards, which used to help slow down the advance of fires.
Spanish blaze under control
With Europe facing new August heatwaves, many areas are on alert for wildfires.
In Tarifa, fire crews secured areas near hotels and other tourist accommodations after getting the blaze under control, local officials said.
Antonio Sanz, interior minister for Andalusia's regional government, said on X that 'the return of all evacuated people' had been authorised after the fire was 'stabilised'.
Spanish public broadcaster TVE reported that the fire started in a camper van at a beachside campsite, and spread quickly in strong winds.
About 1550 people and 5500 vehicles were evacuated from campsites, hotels and homes, Sanz said earlier.
Spain is experiencing a heatwave with temperatures nearing 40C in many regions, and officials reported that 1060 deaths in July could be attributed to intense heat.
Climate experts say that global warming is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves around the world, making for more favourable forest fire conditions.
- Agence France-Presse
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NZ Herald
3 days ago
- NZ Herald
France's largest wildfire this summer contained, one dead, 13 injured
Firefighters on the scene in the Aude department called it a 'classic job but on an extraordinary scale', saying the day was spent dealing with the remaining active pockets of fire. 'The objective is to stabilise the fire' and halt its progress by the end of the day, said Christophe Magny, chief of the Aude department's firefighter unit. The fire advanced much more slowly overnight to Thursday than at the start, when it engulfed around 1000ha per hour, according to the authorities in the nearby city of Narbonne. Weather conditions had become more favourable after two days of strong and changing winds that made the blaze's progress difficult to predict. However, the fire will not be 'declared extinguished for several days', said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department. 'There is still a lot of work to be done.' A 65-year-old woman, who had refused to evacuate, was found dead in her scorched house, while 13 people were injured, 11 of them firefighters. 'Unprecedented catastrophe' The wildfire is a 'catastrophe on an unprecedented scale', Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Wednesday during a visit to the affected region. 'What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought.' The blaze has burned around 17,000ha. In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, the village hardest hit by the fire, thick smoke rose from the pine hills overlooking the vineyards where dry grass was ablaze. On the ground, a fire truck and several fire engines were circulating near the flames, with a water-bombing helicopter approaching the blaze. 'If we don't get help, we will not recover... It makes me sick, this vineyard, all those years of work, gone up in smoke in an hour,' Fabien Vergnes, 52, told AFP on his property in Tournissan, a few kilometres from Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse. The fire is France's biggest so far in a summer that has already seen around 9000 fires, mainly along the Mediterranean coast, according to the emergency management service. An investigation has been opened into the cause, local officials said, but there were no firm leads so far. The Aude department in particular has seen an increase in areas burned in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the uprooting of vineyards, which used to help slow down the advance of fires. Spanish blaze under control With Europe facing new August heatwaves, many areas are on alert for wildfires. In Tarifa, fire crews secured areas near hotels and other tourist accommodations after getting the blaze under control, local officials said. Antonio Sanz, interior minister for Andalusia's regional government, said on X that 'the return of all evacuated people' had been authorised after the fire was 'stabilised'. Spanish public broadcaster TVE reported that the fire started in a camper van at a beachside campsite, and spread quickly in strong winds. About 1550 people and 5500 vehicles were evacuated from campsites, hotels and homes, Sanz said earlier. Spain is experiencing a heatwave with temperatures nearing 40C in many regions, and officials reported that 1060 deaths in July could be attributed to intense heat. Climate experts say that global warming is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves around the world, making for more favourable forest fire conditions. - Agence France-Presse
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
France wildfire kills one and damages homes, as Spanish resort blaze ‘stabilised'
'The fire is still very active and the situation remains unfavourable,' said Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture, citing drought conditions, rising temperatures and strong winds. An elderly woman died in her home, one person is missing and two people were injured, one of whom is now in critical condition with severe burns, according to the Aude prefecture. The 13 injured included nine firefighters. Meanwhile, regional authorities in Spain said that a wildfire raging near the Mediterranean tourist town of Tarifa that prompted evacuations had been 'stabilised'. The French wildfire is a 'catastrophe on an unprecedented scale' triggered by global warming, said French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou while on a visit to the affected Aude region. 'What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought,' Bayrou added. The blaze has burned some 16,000ha (39,500 acres) of land in less than 24 hours. Planes were dropping water on the flames, but Roesch warned 'this fire will keep us busy for several days. It's a long-term operation'. Camping grounds and at least one village were partially evacuated, and several roads were closed. 'I left everything behind me,' said David Cerdan, a 51-year-old who fled Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, where a woman in her 60s died after she refused to leave her home. 'I'm putting it into perspective. I only have material damage,' said Cerdan, who lived near the victim. 'People losing everything' The French wildfire is the country's biggest so far in a summer which has already seen some 9000 fires, mainly along the Mediterranean coast, according to the emergency management service. An investigation has been opened into the cause of the fire, said local officials. 'All of the nation's resources are mobilised,' President Emmanuel Macron said on X, calling on people to exercise 'the utmost caution'. The Aude department in particular has seen an increase in areas burned in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the uprooting of vineyards, which used to help slow down the advance of fires. Strong, changing winds made the firefighters' job particularly difficult, officials said. People as far as 30km away from the fire have felt its impact. 'The air is suffocating ... the smell of burning has seeped into homes,' said Serge de Souza, a local in the seaside town of Port-la-Nouvelle. The frequency of wildfires is taking a toll on local residents, said Aude Damesin, who lives in the town of Fabrezan. 'It's terrible for the wildlife, the flora, and for the people who are losing everything,' she said. The European Union's crisis management commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, said on X that 'the EU stands ready to mobilise international support, if needed'. Spread by strong winds In Spain's Tarifa, fire crews secured areas near hotels and other tourist accommodation after getting the blaze under control, local officials said. Antonio Sanz, Interior Minister for Andalusia's regional government, said on X that 'the return of all evacuated people' had been authorised after the fire was 'stabilised'. He had earlier expressed concern about how the wind could affect the fire's spread. Spanish public broadcaster TVE reported that the fire had started in a campervan at a beachside campsite, before being quickly spread by strong winds. About 1550 people and 5500 vehicles were evacuated from campsites, hotels, and homes, Sanz said earlier. Emergency crews had worked through the night to prevent the fire from reaching coastal resorts. Spain is experiencing a heatwave with temperatures nearing 40C in many regions and officials reported 1060 excess deaths in July that could be attributed to intense heat. Climate experts say that global warming is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves around the world, making for more favourable forest fire conditions. -Agence France-Presse
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Indian army races to find 50 missing after deadly Uttarakhand floods
However, the assessment of the number missing has been reduced as soldiers and rescue teams reached marooned individuals. Around 100 people were reported as unaccounted for late on Tuesday. 'The search for the missing is ongoing,' said Mohsen Shahedi from the National Disaster Response Force. Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away multi-storey apartment blocks in the tourist region on Tuesday afternoon. Shahedi said more than 50 people were missing from Dharali, while 11 soldiers were unaccounted for from the nearby downstream village of Harsil. 'Additional army columns, along with army tracker dogs, drones, logistic drones, earthmoving equipment etc., have been moved... to hasten the efforts,' the army said. Military helicopters were flying in essential supplies, it said, as well as picking up those stranded after roads were swept away even though rain and fog made flights difficult. 'Unimaginable scale' Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the flood was caused by an intense 'cloudburst' of rain and that rescue teams had been deployed 'on a war footing'. Several people could be seen in videos running before being engulfed by the waves of debris that uprooted entire buildings. Suman Semwal told the Indian Express newspaper that his father saw the flood hitting Dharali with a 'rumbling noise' from a village uphill. What he saw was on an 'unimaginable scale', he said. 'They tried to scream, but could not make themselves heard,' Semwal told the newspaper. 'The people couldn't comprehend what was happening. The flood waters struck them in 15 seconds.' A large part of the town was swamped by mud, with rescue officials estimating it was 15m deep in places, swallowing some buildings entirely. Residential buildings partially submerged in sludge after a cloudburst caused a massive mudslide in India's Uttarakhand state. Photo / AFP Images released by the army and government rescue teams showed men heaving rocks by hand and earth movers removing debris to clear roads. Government weather forecasters said on Wednesday that all major rivers in Uttarakhand were flowing above danger levels. 'Residents have been moved to higher reaches in view of rising water levels due to incessant rains,' the army said. The UN's World Meteorological Organisation said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a 'distress signal' of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable. Hydrologist Manish Shrestha said the 270mm of rain that fell within 24 hours counted as 'an extreme event'. Shrestha, from the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said such rain in mountains had a 'more concentrated' impact than on flatter lowlands. 'Such intense rainfall events are becoming increasingly common, and could be linked to climate change.' Climate activist Harjeet Singh, from the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation in New Delhi, said 'unscientific, unsustainable, and reckless construction' in the name of development were exacerbating the problem and 'destroying our natural defences'. 'Global warming is super-charging our monsoons with extreme rain. 'The devastating loss... must be our final wake-up call.' – Agence France-Presse
