France’s biggest wildfire in 75 years has scorched an area larger than Paris in the southern department of Aude. More than 2,000 firefighters and 500 firefighting vehicles continue to be deployed to the Aude region. An woman has died and 13 people, including 11 firefighters, have been injured. Over 15,000 hectares have burned. “It looks like a lunar landscape. It’s hellish”, Jacques Piraux said.
CARCASSONNE AUGUST 7: France’s biggest wildfire in 75 years has scorched an area larger than Paris in the southern department of Aude, leaving a woman dead and forcing thousands of residents to flee.
More than 2,000 firefighters and 500 firefighting vehicles continue to be deployed to the Aude region, alongside gendarmerie and army personnel, officials said on Thursday.
Jacques Piraux, the mayor of Jonquières, said that 80 per cent of his village was burnt. “It looks like a lunar landscape. It’s hellish,” he said. The village and several campsites were evacuated.
An woman has died and 13 people, including 11 firefighters, have been injured, with two in a critical condition, since the fire broke out near the village of Ribaute. Three people have also been reported missing by their relatives.
Over 15,000 hectares have burned. That is similar to the total area that burned across all of France in several of the past years, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said.
– “It’s a catastrophe of unprecedented scale,” Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said as he visited Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.
Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. Once fires start, plentiful dry vegetation and strong winds in the region can cause them to spread rapidly and burn out of control.
