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WEATHER

French Riviera wildfire ‘no longer spreading but still not under control’

The massive wildfire in south-east France that has killed two people, injured dozens of others and destroyed more than 7,000 hectares of land is no longer spreading, officials have said.

Published: 20 August 2021 17:12 CEST
French Riviera wildfire 'no longer spreading but still not under control'
Photo: Sylvain Thomas / AFP

But they warned the blaze is still not under control, amid concerns that increasing winds in the coming days would fan the flames. 

Var prefect Evence Richard warned that deteriorating weather conditions over the weekend meant that firefighters ‘cannot rule out new outbreaks’.

READ ALSO Weekend winds ‘risk worsening’ French Riviera fire

More than 1,200 firefighters and 250 fire engines from all over France have been battling the blaze along an 80km front. It is under control, but not yet “out”, officials said. The risk of fresh fires means many exhausted emergency personnel will be on duty over the weekend.

The deceased have been identified as 54-year-old local guesthouse owner named Olivier, and a 32-year-old holidaymaker named Virginie, from the greater Paris Île-de-France region. Their bodies were found in a house that was destroyed by the fire in Val-de-Gilly.

A further 26 people have received medical treatment, mostly for smoke inhalation.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire, which is believed it started at a motorway rest area near the glamorous resort of Saint-Tropez on Monday. 

“We know where it started and we are still working to find out what the exact cause is,” investigators said. 

Early and unconfirmed reports suggest that a carelessly discarded cigarette was the most likely cause of the fire, but officials have stressed that the inquiry is continuing.

Meanwhile, gendarmes have appealed for witnesses to the cause of the fire to come forward. 

“The gendarmerie is looking for the testimony of people with information on the circumstances of the start of the fire,” they tweeted.

READ ALSO What to do if you see a wildfire in France

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WEATHER

Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Summer is finally here! Or least it is if you live in southern Norway, where a warm front coming up from Europe will bring t-shirt temperatures of 20C by Thursday, according to forecasts.

Published: 30 April 2024 08:42 CEST
Norway to get a taste of summer with 20C days this week

Warm air from southern Europe will combine with a high pressure zone which will bring clear skies and sunshine, with summery weather coming towards the end of the week, Norway’s national weather forecaster Yr has reported. 

“Thursday and Friday especially will be nice,” Ingrid Villa, a meteorologist at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, told the public broadcaster NRK. “Then we will probably get temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius in some places.” 

Patches of 20C warmth are expected both in western Norway around Bergen and in Western Norway around Oslo, with the area around Tromsø expected to have slightly cooler weather, although Villa said that “it will absolutely be something like summer there too”. 

The warm sunny weather is, however, expected to pass northern Norway by, with grey overcast skies expected for much of this week. 

But if you think summer has come to Norway to stay, you risk disappointment as much cooler temperatures are expected next week.  

“There’s nothing unusual in getting an early taste of summer in April and the start of May, and then we can quickly go back to cooler more spring-like weather,” Villa said. 

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