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Wildfires in southern France ‘under control’ as firefighters continue to battle blazes

Firefighters are winning the battle against the flames that swept through southern France but strong winds are still presenting a challenge.

Wildfires in southern France 'under control' as firefighters continue to battle blazes
Photo: AFP
Huge fires that forced mass evacuations of residents and holidaymakers in southern France were “under control” early Thursday, firefighters said, although they warned new blazes were still starting.
   
In the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas, located near beaches popular with tourists on the Cote d'Azur, “the fire is not completely under control but we are winning the fight,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Michael Bernier, the civil security officer leading the emergency effort there.
   
“Things are going in the right direction but new fires are starting caused by gusts of wind,” he said.
 
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In the neighbouring Bouches-du-Rhone region, three major fires that have burned thousands of square kilometres were also tamed or being dampened down on Thursday, firefighters told AFP.

But authorities were on high alert, fearing that new blazes could start in the hot, dry conditions, fanned by the strong Mistral wind.
   
“In such dry conditions, we really fear that fires could start again,” one firefighter said.
 
Around 10,000 holidaymakers and residents were forced to flee to the safety of public shelters overnight Tuesday as flames swept towards campsites.
 
Some holidaymakers took refuge on beaches.
 
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe visited an accommodation centre for evacuees in Bormes-les-Mimosas on Wednesday evening.
 
Over 6,000 firefighters, troops and civil security officials are involved in efforts to put out the flames, backed up by 19 planes that drop containers of water on the flaming trees and bushes.
 
More than 7,000 hectares of vegetation have been burned.
 
Forest fires also raged early Thursday in Portugal, cutting off roads in the centre of the country and forcing thousands to flee just a month after deadly blazes left more than 60 people dead.
 
The biggest fire was in Serta, in the Castelo Branco region, where more than a quarter of the country's firefighters were attempting to halt its progress.

WILDFIRES

France gets help from EU neighbours as wildfires rage

Firefighting teams and equipment from six EU nations started to arrive in France on Thursday to help battle a spate of wildfires, including a fierce blaze in the parched southwest that has forced thousands to evacuate.

France gets help from EU neighbours as wildfires rage

Most of the country is sweltering under a summer heatwave compounded by a record drought – conditions most experts say will occur more often as a result of rapid climate change.

“We must continue, more than ever, our fight against climate disruption and … adapt to this climate disruption,” Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said after arriving at a fire command post in the village of Hostens, south of Bordeaux.

The European Commission said four firefighting planes would be sent to France from Greece and Sweden, as well as teams from Austria, Germany, Poland and Romania.

“Our partners are coming to France’s aid against the fires. Thank you to them. European solidarity is at work!” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

“Across the country over 10,000 firefighters and security forces are mobilised against the flames… These soldiers of fire are our heroes,” he said.

In total, 361 foreign firefighters were  dispatched to assist their 1,100 French colleagues deployed in the worst-hit part of the French southwest.

A first contingent of 65 German firefighters, followed by their 24 vehicles, arrived Thursday afternoon and were to go into action at dawn Friday, officials said.

Among eight major fires currently raging, the biggest is the Landiras fire in the southwest Gironde department, whose forests and beaches draw huge tourist crowds each summer.

It had already burned 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) in July – the driest month seen in France since 1961 – before being contained, but it continued to smoulder in the region’s tinder-dry pine forests and peat-rich soil.

Since flaring up again Tuesday, which officials suspect may have been caused by arson, it has burned 7,400 hectares, destroyed or damaged 17 homes, and forced 10,000 people to quit their homes, said Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Mendousse of the Gironde fire and rescue service.

Borne said nine firefighting planes are already dumping water on the blaze, with two more to be in service by the weekend.

“Gigantic”
“We battled all night to stop the fire from spreading, notably to defend the village of Belin-Beliet,” Mendousse told journalists in Hostens.

On several houses nearby, people hung out white sheets saying: “Thank you for saving our homes” and other messages of support for the weary fire battalions.

“You’d think we’re in California, it’s gigantic… And they’re used to forest fires here but we’re being overwhelmed on all sides — nobody could have expected this,” Remy Lahlay, a firefighter deployed near Hostens in the Landes de Gascogne natural park, told AFP.

With temperatures in the region hitting nearly 40C on Thursday and forecast to stay high until at least Sunday, “there is a very serious risk of new outbreaks” for the Landiras fire, the prefecture of the Gironde department said.

Acrid smoke has spread across much of the southwestern Atlantic coast and its beaches that draw huge crowds of tourists each summer, with the regional ARS health agency “strongly” urging people to wear protective face masks.

The smoke also forced the closing of the A63 motorway, a major artery toward Spain, between Bordeaux and Bayonne.

The government has urged employers to allow leaves of absence for volunteer firefighters to help fight the fires.

Meanwhile, in Portugal, more than 1,500 firefighters were also battling a fire that has raged for days in the mountainous Serra da Estrela natural park in the centre of the country.

It has already burned 10,000 hectares, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

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