Firefighters battled several wind-driven wildfires across southern France on Thursday as the country grappled with parched conditions left by Europe's recent heatwave. More than 1,200 hectares were burned in a single day, and fresh blazes erupted near Marseille.
Wildfires Scorch Over 1,200 Hectares
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said three wildfires, two of them on the western edge of the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, had scorched a combined 1,210 hectares. As Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu arrived in Marseille on Thursday afternoon to chair a new crisis meeting on the heatwave and the wildfires, firefighters informed him that another blaze had just broken out near the city of Roquemaure in the Gard area.
Lecornu, whose minority government faces a no-confidence vote in parliament on Monday tabled by Green Party lawmakers over its handling of the heatwave crisis, said 8,700 hectares had burned in France so far this season, including 1,200 hectares on Wednesday alone. He added that 2,000 firefighters had been mobilised to tackle the fires.
Heatwave Heightens Wildfire Risk
The World Meteorological Organization last week warned that the record temperatures that gripped Western Europe for more than a week in late June would heighten the risk of wildfires because of sustained high temperatures, very low humidity and dry vegetation.
The largest wildfire was burning in the Aude department near the Spanish border, where about 900 hectares had been destroyed. Local authorities said strong winds were hampering efforts by around 800 firefighters to contain the blaze.
Fires Near Marseille and Elsewhere
Elsewhere, firefighters were bringing a small fire near Marseille's airport in Rognac under control, while another blaze that burned 260 hectares in Lancon-Provence had been contained. Local officials said there were no casualties. An acrid smell of smoke lingered across the area, and pilots on at least one flight landing in Marseille reassured passengers that the odour was not coming from the aircraft, a Reuters witness said.
Evacuations in Frejus
Further east, in the resort town of Frejus in the Var department, about 35 kilometres from Cannes, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from six campsites on Wednesday because of a nearby forest fire.
