France’s biggest wildfire in years was spreading quickly Wednesday in a Mediterranean region near Spain after leaving one person dead and several injured, authorities said. The fire burned an area larger than Paris, and the military was called in to help.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored a “disaster on an unprecedented scale” in the region.
Over 2,100 firefighters and several water bomber aircraft battled the blaze that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural, wooded area that is home to wineries.
The fire, which has burned 39,500 acres, remained “very active” on Wednesday and continued to progress as night fell, the local administration said. The weather was hot, dry and windy, making it difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze.
Villagers sought to help douse the flames or save their homes and small businesses, and described their alarm at the fire’s speed. Ash filled the air and coated windows and cars, and several roads were closed around the region.
“The sky was blue, and then less than an hour later the sky was orange,” said Andy Pickup of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, at the heart of the fire zone. “That’s when we went out and tried to help.”
“We heard pops and cracks — it was the trees, it was the village,” he told The Associated Press. “We could see the fires taking hold on all the hills around Saint-Laurent.” At dusk, he said, they saw fires in every direction, some as near as 100 yards away.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the military will reinforce efforts starting from Thursday, with several dozen soldiers to be deployed.
One person died in their home, and at least 13 others were injured, including 11 firefighters, local authorities said. Three people were missing, the prefecture said.
Jacques Piraux, mayor of the village of Jonquières, said all residents have been evacuated.
“It’s a scene of sadness and desolation,” he told broadcaster BFM TV after visiting there on Wednesday morning. “It looks like a lunar landscape, everything is burned. More than half or three-quarters of the village has burned down. It’s hellish.”
Residents and tourists in nearby areas were requested to remain in their homes unless told to evacuate. Two campgrounds were evacuated as a precaution.
The prime minister met Wednesday afternoon with firefighters and residents at Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, where the fire service’s command post has been set up. He said he came to express “national solidarity.”
The area’s economy is relying on winery and tourism and “both sectors are affected,” he stressed.
Bayrou said an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.
The environment ministry said the Aude region has been experiencing a drought this month, with water use restrictions in place. Lack of rainfall in recent months “played a major role in the spreading of the fire, since the vegetation is very dry,” the statement said.
This week’s fire was the biggest since the creation of a national fire database in 2006, according to the national emergency service.
Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. Last month, a wildfire that reached the southern port of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, left around 300 people injured.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
“We’ve lived here for 10 years and we’ve seen nothing like that,’’ Pickup said. ‘’Consistently the summers are getting hotter, there is less and less rain, and that is a major problem.’’
“We have been told the wind might come stronger tomorrow,’’ he added.
