At least 12,000 people were evacuated overnight after a new wildfire was sparked in southern France, which is already battling massive forest fires, authorities said Wednesday.
“The evacuations, at least 10,000, followed the progression of the fire. It’s an area that doubles or triples its population in summer,” said a fire service official of the blaze near Bormes-les-Mimosas before another 2,000 were told to leave their houses.
Earlier, France asked for Europe’s help Tuesday in fighting wild fires that have consumed swathes of forest in the southeast, one of which is raging near the popular resort of Saint-Tropez.
Over 4,000 firefighters and troops backed by 19 water bombers have been mobilised to extinguish the flames.
At least 12 firefighters have been injured and 15 police officers affected by smoke inhalation since the fires broke out on Monday, according to the authorities.
The blazes have devoured around 4,000 hectares (15 square miles) of land along the Mediterranean coast, in the mountainous interior and on the island of Corsica — in the middle of the holiday season.
With strong winds and tinder dry conditions creating a dangerous mix, the government asked its European Union partners to send two extra fire-fighting planes — a request immediately fulfilled by Italy, according to the EU.
But one union official denounced what he said was a lack of spare parts preventing all the aircraft required from being put into action.
Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced that France would be adding six more firefighting planes to its fleet during a visit to Corsica Tuesday.
A fire in La Croix-Valmer near Saint-Tropez, a resort frequented by the rich and famous, had been contained, local fire chief Philippe Gambe de Vergnes said Tuesday.
But the blaze had already gutted 400 hectares of coastal forest in an area dotted with homes, he said. More than 200 people had to be moved from the area.
La Croix-Valmer’s deputy mayor Rene Carandante described a desolate landscape of blackened headlands fringed by charred umbrella pines, where green forest had once framed the azure waters of the Mediterranean.
source: AFP
