'Challenging day' for firefighters battling huge blaze in France
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.
"With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius, there is a major risk of fire," said local official Herve Baro.
Some 1,300 firefighters were drafted in to stop the blaze from flaring up amid fears that winds blowing around 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hour could fan lingering hot spots.
"It's going to be a challenging day," said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department, citing the weather conditions.
The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare (40,000-acre) area, said the chief of the region's firefighter unit Christophe Magny on Saturday, adding it would not be under control until Sunday evening.
But the blaze will "not be extinguished for several weeks," he said.
People walk through a burnt-out farm following wildfires in Fontjoncouse, southern France on August 9, 2025. (Photo by Idriss Bigou-Gilles / AFP)
Temperatures in the coming days are expected to hit 42C in some areas, 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.
Advertisement
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'
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.
READ ALSO:
MAP: Which parts of France suffer the most wildfires
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.
Advertisement
Bernier's property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she entrusted her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, the farm too damaged for them to stay.
But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Bernier voiced some hope for the future.
"There's still a little life left," she said.
'Hard to bear'
Experts warn that European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
A beekeeper looks at a burnt hive following wildfires in Fontjoncouse, southern France on August 9, 2025. (Photo by Idriss Bigou-Gilles / AFP)
There has been "an acceleration in the occurrence of heatwaves" linked to climate change, Meteo France said, noting the country has had only two summers without such episodes in the past 16 years.
Residents of southern France said the high temperatures are becoming unbearable, especially for the most vulnerable, including the elderly or children.
"I've never experienced a heatwave as hard to bear as this year, said Monique Beluy, 81, in the southern city of Marseille, who worries about living alone.
I'm feeling less and less calm given my age and my health. I know I'm more vulnerable," she said.
The heatwave is forecast to peak between Monday and Tuesday, but high temperatures are likely to persist through the end of the week, according to Meteo France.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Massive fire burns on mountain near western Canada city
"I've lived in Port Alberni since 1956 and this is one of the biggest fires we've ever seen," Russ Wetas, 69, told AFP as smoke from Mount Underwood filled the sky behind him. The wildfire service in the west coast province of British Columbia has listed the Mount Underwood fire as "out of control," meaning it is expected to spread further. But it remained unclear if Port Alberni, roughly 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north, will be evacuated. On the opposite end of the vast country, in the easternmost province of Newfoundland and Labrador, parts of the capital St. John's received evacuation orders on Tuesday, following several days of intensifying fire. This year has already become Canada's second-worst wildfire season in terms of landmass burned, based on figures dating back to 1983. So far, 7.4 million hectares (18.3 million acres) have been scorched -- an area nearly as large as Panama -- putting 2025 past the 7.1 million hectare mark from 1995. But this year is not expected to pass 2023, when 17.3 million hectares (42.7 million acres) burned, an extraordinary toll that focused global attention on the growing threat of wildfires boosted by human-induced climate change. Smoke from this year's wildfires has put tens of millions of people under air quality alerts in both Canada and the United States. The haze has even crossed the Atlantic, affecting people in western Europe. There were 721 wildfires burning across Canada on Wednesday, including 161 considered out of control, with every province and territory impacted, except the tiny eastern province of Prince Edward Island. Mount Underwood is on Vancouver Island, making the blaze there part of a worrying trend of increased wildfire activity near the coast. Experts have said that historically coastal areas did not burn, but more serious wildfires near the ocean are being recorded, even if they remain less intense than blazes further inland. Ted Hagard, who works at Port Alberni's paper mill, told AFP he had been watching the fire's progression on social media but needed to see it for himself. It's "insane how huge it is," the 46-year-old said, standing on the shores of a lake adjacent to Mount Underwood. Canada is experiencing a rise in conditions that are conducive to fires, experts say, linking the trend to climate change, which has caused elevated temperatures, reduced snow, shorter and milder winters, and earlier summer weather. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
a day ago
- Euronews
Wildfire across Europe kill at least two and cause widespread damage
Wildfires across southern Europe continue to cause massive damage and threaten the evacuation of thousands as a heatwave scorches parts of the continent. In Greece, firefighters are battling to control wildfires on the outskirts of the nation's third largest city, Patras. Seven major wildfires forced multiple evacuations, destroying homes and businesses. The local civil protection service issued more than 20 mobile phone alerts due to the fire. High winds hindered firefighting efforts on nearby islands, where authorities were on standby to evacuate tourist resorts. Other severe fires burned in the western part of the Greek mainland as well as on the island of Chios. In Albania, wildfires burned forests, houses and killed at least one person. Several villages were evacuated as the fires continue to affect parts of the country. Around thirty wildfires are endangering residents and burning forest areas, according to authorities. An 80-year-old man was reportedly killed by a fire in the Gramsh district, approximately 80km from the capital city of Tirana. Around 1,000 firefighters, army personnel and local staff were mobilised to fight the flames, according to Albanian officials. Wildfires on the Iberian Peninsula In Spain, thousands are facing evacuation orders as wildfires burn across the Iberian Peninsula. Firefighters have largely contained a blaze outside Madrid that broke out Monday night. That fire killed a man, led to dozens being evacuated and affected over 10 square kilometres of land. Several people have been arrested by Spanish officials as the alleged perpetrators of fires that broke out. The heatwave in the region is expected to reach up to 44 degrees Celsius in some areas. In Portugal, emergency services are battling a series of wildfires amid another heatwave. Authorities said three major fires that started over the weekend were of concern. Around 2,000 firefighters are on the ground to try to tackle the flames, with more than 700 working to control a fire in Trancoso. An extreme weather alert was extended until Friday throughout mainland Portugal. Italian firefighters are tackling a wildfire on mount Vesuvius, where fires have been blazing since Friday. Planes dropped water over the flames hundreds of times to contain the wildfire. Europe is warming faster than any other continent, according to the EU Copernicus Institute, and wildfires have massively impacted the continent over the summer.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Thousands battle Greece fires as heatwave bakes 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.
