Flames and smoke are seen during fires which burn north of Marseille, France, August 10, 2016.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, three people have died in raging forest fires on Portugal’s holiday island of Madeira where flames damaged homes and a hotel and forced around 1,000 people to flee.
There have been more than 100 fires in Portugal, the worst of them on the Atlantic island of Madeira.
Forest fires raged through parts of France’s Mediterranean coast on Thursday, with the worst in nearly two decades burning around Marseille, injuring seven people and forcing authorities to evacuate thousands from their homes. At least 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of land were devastated.
The fire badly affected transportation by road and air on Wednesday, with two motorways closed and some flights cancelled at Marseille airport.
“Everything burned, the house, the auto. there is nothing left”, a resident of Vitrolles told BFM-TV. Firefighting aircraft were restarting duty at daybreak, while the battle continued on the ground.
The firefighters were hurt battling a blaze further west in Herault, when their vehicle was surrounded by flames. A full 186 wildfires were counted Wednesday on Portugal’s mainland.
Flights have resumed from the Marseille airport following a massive wildfire that struck the region Wednesday, Bloomberg reports. Desperate, the government requested help from other European Union countries.
New wildfires in the Pyrenees region of south western France prompt more residents to flee their homes.
Two people were reported injured, one seriously as the fire marched southward, firefighters said, and 20 to 25 homes were burned.
More than 1,500 firefighters are tackling the blazes which sprang up in scrubland north of the city.
“The fire is progressing”.
Deputy Mayor Julian Ruas told I-Télé TV that the fire could reach the outskirts of Marseille in the next few hours. He said the city was setting up firewalls on the corridor leading toward it, but if the fire passes those “it will move toward the northern neighborhoods of Marseille”. “The fire is extremely powerful, fast, explosive, and continues burning everything in its path”, firefighters said in a statement.
French Interior Minister Barnard Cazeneuve told reporters on Wednesday that 1,800 firefighters were battling multiple fires.
About 400 police officers were also being mobilised, he said.
Advertisement
The firefighters were standing on top of the houses as they worked, he said. One man has been arrested on suspicion of arson linked to the fire, which began in the town of Vitrolles, 19 miles north of the city.
