Firefighters tackling a massive wildfire in southern France face a “challenging day” with officials warning on Sunday that scorching heat and dry winds could reignite the blaze.
The fire, which has ravaged a vast area of France’s southern Aude department, killing one person and injuring several others, comes as parts of the Mediterranean region face a heatwave.
Authorities said that hot, dry winds on Sunday — similar to those on the day the blaze began — and a heatwave would make the work of firefighters more difficult.
“With temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius, there is a major risk of fire,” said local official Herve Baro.
Some 1,300 firefighters were drafted in to stop the blaze from flaring up amid fears that winds blowing around 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hour could fan lingering hot spots.
“It’s going to be a challenging day,” said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department, citing the weather conditions.
The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare (40,000-acre) area, said the chief of the region’s firefighter unit Christophe Magny on Saturday, adding it would not be under control until Sunday evening.
But the blaze will “not be extinguished for several weeks,” he said.
Temperatures in the coming days are expected to hit 42C in some areas, according to national weather service Meteo France.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames.
Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury.
-‘Extremely angry’-
The blaze — the largest in at least 50 years — tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said.
For livestock farmers in Fontjoncouse, the fire has ravaged grazing land and wiped out much of their flocks, fuelling outrage among those who said they did not have time to evacuate their herds.
Emmanuelle Bernier said she was “extremely angry” when she returned to a devastating scene, finding the pen that had housed her herd of goats in ruins, with 17 animals — some close to giving birth — lost in the fire.
“I will definitely change jobs. This will change my whole life,” she said.
Bernier’s property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she entrusted her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, the farm too damaged for them to stay.
But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Bernier voiced some hope for the future.
“There’s still a little life left,” she said.
-‘Hard to bear’-
Experts warn that European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
There has been “an acceleration in the occurrence of heatwaves” linked to climate change, Meteo France said, noting the country has had only two summers without such episodes in the past 16 years.
Residents of southern France said the high temperatures are becoming unbearable, especially for the most vulnerable, including the elderly or children.
“I’ve never experienced a heatwave as hard to bear as this year, said Monique Beluy, 81, in the southern city of Marseille, who worries about living alone.
I’m feeling less and less calm given my age and my health. I know I’m more vulnerable,” she said.
The heatwave is forecast to peak between Monday and Tuesday, but high temperatures are likely to persist through the end of the week, according to Meteo France.
skh-ap-ekf/sbk
