Paris [France], August 7: A large and rapidly spreading vegetation fire in southern France has killed a woman who refused to evacuate her home, the local prefecture and a mayor said on Wednesday.
The victim - a woman in her 60s - died at home in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, Mayor Xavier de Volontat told the broadcaster BFMTV.
When the neighbourhoods threatened by the fire were being evacuated, the woman refused to leave her home, he said. "The fire came very quickly, and she was trapped in her burning house."
Overnight, the fire spread across 16,000 hectares, affecting 15 municipalities. Currently, 2,150 firefighters are working to contain the blaze in in the southern French region of Aude. Aerial firefighting operations resumed in the morning.
The fire broke out on Tuesday afternoon in the municipality of Ribaute, located roughly between the cities of Carcassonne and Narbonne. The flames then spread rapidly through the mountainous Corbieres region, fuelled by strong winds.
The local prefecture expects unfavourable weather conditions to persist. Two civilians have been injured in the fire, one of whom suffered severe burns; they were taken to hospital. Additionally, 11 firefighters have been injured during the operation, one of them seriously. One person is reported missing.
Tourists were forced to evacuate two campsites in the area. Numerous roads have been closed due to the fire, including a section of the A9 motorway.
Early in the morning, 2,500 households were without electricity. Authorities have urged residents to stay indoors unless explicitly instructed to evacuate.
Several locations have been evacuated due to the fire. "The civil protection department managed to accommodate and shelter more than 500 people during this very difficult night," a spokesman for the agency told BFMTV.
The small community of Jonquieres has been particularly badly affected. Mayor Jacques Piraud told the newspaper Le Monde that 70 to 80% of the municipality had been burnt. "It's unreal, black, the trees are completely charred." The drought in the area was so severe that the conifers bordering the villages were burning like torches, he said.
"Since 1949, this is undoubtedly the fire that has destroyed the most hectares of land," French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said at the scene on Wednesday.
Within just a few hours, the flames had affected as much land as all the previous fires in 2019, 2020 and 2021, he said. He said helicopters and army forces would be deployed to battle the fire.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou said that climate change was forcing the region to think fundamentally about the future. This involves the question of which crops farmers should grow and how forests should be maintained, he said.
Source: Qatar Tribune
