ReutersFrance’s largest wildfire for 75 years, which has burned through an area larger than Paris, has slowed overnight but is not yet under control, officials have said.
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.
An elderly 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.
Three people have also been reported missing by their relatives and dozens of homes have been destroyed, the Aude prefecture added.
Christophe Magny, one of the officials leading the firefighting operation told local media outlet France Info on Thursday that firefighters hoped to contain the wildfire later in the day.
Images overnight showed firefighters tackling the 16,000 hectare (62sq miles) blaze, which officials said had lost intensity since Wednesday due to wind and lower temperatures.
Water-bombing aircraft have also helped tackle the flames.
ReutersSmoke 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.
Residents 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. Its black, the trees are completely charred,” he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that “all of the nation’s resources are mobilised,” and called on people to exercise “the utmost caution”.
