France battles huge wildfire for second day in a row
ST-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE: French firefighters battled for a second day today to contain its biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades, which has burnt over 16,000 hectares and killed one person.
Reuters TV images showed plumes of smoke rising over the forest area in the region of Aude in southern France.
'As of now, the fire has not been brought under control,' Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation, told BFM TV.
The blaze near the border with Spain towards the Mediterranean Sea began earlier this week and has already swept through an area bigger than Paris.
Officials have said it is France's biggest wildfire since 1949.
Scientists say the Mediterranean region's hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires.
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The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Wildfire contained in southern France as heatwave threatens reignition
FONTJONCOUSE: Firefighters have contained a massive wildfire in southern France but local officials warned on Sunday that scorching heat and dry conditions could reignite the blaze, as parts of the Mediterranean region face a heatwave. The fire has ravaged a vast area of France's southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others. Authorities said that hot, dry winds on Sunday -- similar to those on the day the blaze began -- and a heatwave would make the work of firefighters more difficult. 'It's a challenging day, given that we are likely to be on red alert for heatwave from 4:00 pm, which will not make things any easier,' said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department. The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare area, said Christophe Magny on Saturday, chief of the region's firefighter unit, adding it would not be under control until Sunday evening. But the blaze will 'not be extinguished for several weeks,' he said. Some 1,300 firefighters were mobilised to prevent the blaze from reigniting amid fears that the tramontane wind, which officials said picked up overnight Saturday to Sunday, could fan lingering hot spots. Temperatures this weekend are expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, and Monday is forecast to be the 'hottest day nationwide,' according to national weather service Meteo France. In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead on 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. 'Extremely angry' Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming. The blaze -- the largest in at least 50 years -- tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said. For livestock farmers in Fontjoncouse, the fire has ravaged grazing land and wiped out much of their flocks, fuelling outrage among those who said they did not have time to evacuate their herds. Emmanuelle Bernier said she was 'extremely angry' when she returned to a devastating scene, finding the pen that had housed her herd of goats in ruins, with 17 animals -- some close to giving birth -- lost in the fire. 'I will definitely change jobs. This will change my whole life,' she said. Bernier's property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she had to temporarily entrust her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, as the damage to the farm was so extensive that they could no longer stay. 'Everything here was built around the sheep, and seeing the flock leave was incredibly difficult for me,' she said. But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Bernier voiced some hope for the future. 'There's still a little life left,' she said - AFP
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Major French wildfire is unlikely to be under control until late on Sunday
A firefighter is silhouetted while conducting a water rescue operation at sunset amid land scorched by a wildfire near Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, southern France, August 7, 2025. REUTERS/Manon Cruz TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY PARIS (Reuters) -A wildfire in the southern French prefecture of Aude is not expected to be under control until late on Sunday, the regional chief firefighter said on French television. The fire, which began Tuesday, is one of the largest recorded in France since 1949. Spread over 16,000 hectares (around 40,000 acres), it has led to one fatality, the injury of 19 firefighters and six civilians, and several dozen homes have been destroyed. "The fire is contained but not controlled. We still have hot spots (...) until Sunday evening the fire will not be brought under control," Colonel Christophe Magny told a news conference broadcast on BFM TV. All of the local departmental roads have been reopened, but the entrance into the wildfire zone is prohibited due to the risk of rekindling, the local French prefecture said in a statement on Saturday. French authorities have attributed the fire to the impact of climate change. An orange heatwave warning - the second highest warning level that encourages people to remain vigilant - is in effect for the department until midnight on Sunday, the prefecture said. Before the fire began, the region's wine growers had dug up an extensive area of their vineyards, which traditionally serve as a natural, moisture-retentive firebreak, as declining wine consumption and subsidies have reduced profits. (Reporting by Forrest Crellin and Claude Chendjou; editing by Barbara Lewis)
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Massive French wildfire contained but 'not under control'
DURBAN-CORBIÈRES: French firefighters said Saturday that the country's biggest wildfire in at least half a century was contained but would not be brought under control before Sunday evening. 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 - AFP
