5 days ago
Firefighters quell wildfires in southern France
Around 150 people were ordered to leave their homes as more than 1,000 firefighters assisted by water-bomb aircraft battled overnight to contain a wildfire that broke out in Martigues, southern France, and spread over 240 hectares of pine forest 40 kilometres to the north-west of Marseille.
Two firefigheres suffered minor injuries as the blaze was brought under control on Friday afternoon.
Firefighters chief Pierre Bepoix told Reuters news agency: "It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated.
"Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."
The residents were accommodated in centres in Martigues and the neighbouring town of Sausset-les-Pins. They were allowed to return to their homes on Friday afternoon, said Bruno Cassette, the sub-prefect for Aix-en-Provence.
Two fires that started on Thursday in the Var region, near Fréjus were brought under control after covering a total area of 30 hectares.
As a precautionary measure, 200 firefighters spent the night in the area to douse the embers and ensure the blaze was not rekindled.
On 8 July, a wildfire started after a car caught fire on the side of the road just outside Marseille. Nearly 100 buildings were damaged or destroyed as the fire raged across 750 hectares between Les Pennes-Mirabeau and Marseille.
It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing Marseille airport to close its runways and cancel around a dozen flights.
