Marseille airport closed as firefighters continue to battle wildfire
PARIS - A wildfire that had reached the northwestern outskirts of France's second city of Marseille lost intensity overnight on Wednesday, but the airport was closed as firefighters continued to battle the flames.
Residents who had been told to stay in their homes for their own safety were once again allowed out.
"With the fire in northern Marseilles now clearly under control, we can announce this morning that the 16th arrondissement is no longer under lockdown," Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said in a post on social media platform X.
"I call on all Marseille residents to exercise the utmost caution in the area, as emergency services are hard at work," he added.
Local officials said that the airport would close for commercial flights to prioritise air resources, although some roads could reopen for the passage of emergency services.
It was too soon for the hundreds of residents who had fled from the wildfire to return, officials said.
Hundreds of firefighters, aided by helicopters and aircraft, had been fighting the flames, fanned by winds of up to 70 kph (43 mph) and which brought plumes of smoke over the southern coastal city.
The fire had burnt through 700 hectares (2.7 square miles) but no fatalities had been reported and hundreds of homes had been saved, regional prefect Georges-Francois Leclerc said late on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters late on Tuesday that the fire had been fast-moving.
Climate change has made wildfires more destructive in Mediterranean countries in recent years.
This week and last week, fires raged in northeastern Spain, on the Greek island of Crete and in Athens. REUTERS
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