France’s largest wildfire for 75 years, which has burned through an area larger than Paris, will burn for several more days even though it has been brought under control, authorities said early on Friday.
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.
A 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 in southern France on Tuesday.
“The fire is contained,” Lucie Roesch, secretary general of the Aude prefecture, was quoted as saying by local media.
The fire will not be “declared extinguished for several days”, said Christian Pouget, the prefect for Aude. “There is still a lot of work to be done.”
Water-bombing aircraft have also helped tackle the flames, which have burned through more than 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres).
Authorities have banned access to the forests that were devastated by the fire until at least Sunday.
They said roads in the zone were too dangerous because of fallen electricity lines and other hazards.
Smoke from the fires and large areas of burnt land could be seen from satellite images on Thursday, highlighting the scale of the devastation across the region.
ReutersResidents have been urged not to return home while operations continue, with 17 temporary accommodation sites opened up.
Villages in the Corbieres region remain on high alert, according to French media.
Officials say the wildfire is the largest in France since 1949, with French Prime Minister François Bayrou calling it a “catastrophe on an unprecedented scale”.
During a visit to the Aude region on Wednesday, Bayrou said the fire was connected to global warming and drought.
Environment Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher also linked the blaze to climate change.
Officials said on Wednesday the fire’s quick advance was driven by strong winds, dry vegetation and hot summer weather.
Jacques Piraud, mayor of the village of Jonquières, where several houses burned down, told Le Monde that around 80% of the village was burnt.
“It’s dramatic. It’s black, the trees are completely charred,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that “all of the nation’s resources are mobilised,” and called on people to exercise “the utmost caution”.
