France engulfed by wildfire on unprecedented scale
A huge, deadly wildfire has engulfed the south of France, sweeping through villages on an unprecedented scale. French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou who has been visiting the Aude region where wildfires have burnt down an area larger than Paris, said the wildfire is as a result of global warming and drought.
According to media reports, an elderly woman has been killed, one person declared missing and at least 13 people injured. A total of 2,150 firefighters has been mobilized and currently battling the gargantuan conflagration which has burnt over 15,000 hectares (58 sq miles).
Lower rainfall and vineyards removal which once helped slow the spread of wildfires have exposed the region to fire outbreaks in recent years, with scientists warning that the rising hot and dry summers in the Mediterranean place the region at huge risk of severe wildfires.
The French emergency management service has disclosed that nearly 15,000 hectares (57.9 square miles) have been burnt nationwide this summer in more than 9,000 separate fires. The Aude inferno now accounts for the same amount of destruction or possibly more as all the previous ones, with at least 25 homes destroyed, dozens of vehicles burnt down and over 2,500 households left without electricity.
Officials have proclaimed the wildfire which broke out on Tuesday as the biggest wildfire since 1949 in France. Villages mostly affected include; Tournissan, Fabrezan, Lagrasse, Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse and Coustouge.
According to a statement from the Aude Prefecture, residents have been told not to return home as 17 temporary accommodation sites have been opened across the region.
As firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battle the flames, authorities have warned that the fires could rage for more days. The Secretary General of the Aude Prefecture Lucie Roesch told newsmen that the fire remains active with the situation of things still unfavourable.
Officials have said that the fire was fanned by strong winds, dry vegetation and the hot summer weather, burning down about 80% of the village.  “It’s dramatic. Its black, the trees are completely charred,” Jacques Piraud, Mayor of the village of Jonquières said.
The plume of smoke from the fire can be seen from space, based on a satellite image by Météo-France. The French President Emmanuel Macron said on his X handle (formerly Twitter) that the entire country’s resources have been mobilized, calling on the citizens to proceed with utmost caution.
