MARSEILLE, France (AP) – Authorities say wind-whipped fires are no longer threatening the French city of Marseille, but hundreds of people remained evacuated.
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More than 1,500 firefighters are battling the blaze north of France’s second largest city.
Marseille deputy mayor Julien Ruas told CNN Thursday that the fire had been contained in Bouches-du-Rhône, but firefighters would work through the night in case the blaze was reignited by the wind.
Three people have died, including a after a fire tore across the Portuguese island of Madeira. He said two other people were seriously hurt and one person is missing.
One person is still missing and police have arrested one man on suspicious of starting the fires.
Some 1,800 firefighters including many drafted in from elsewhere in France joined the battle backed by around 500 rescue vehicles, five air tankers and two helicopters and around 100 police, Rampon said.
“The fire is extremely powerful, fast, explosive, and continues burning everything in its path”, firefighters said in a statement from a temporary headquarters set up in Vitrolles.
Meanwhile, four firefighters were injured, three of them seriously, as they battled to bring a separate blaze in the Herault under control.
High winds stimulated the spread of the fires, with thick smoke visible across the region.
French President Francois Hollande said authorities believe some of the fires were started deliberately and vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down.
Anyone flying to or from the airport in Marseille has been warned of delays or cancellations today, as air traffic controllers keep the skies clear for the firefighting aircraft.
For firefighters battling huge blazes in France, Spain and Portugal, hot, dry summer weather and treacherous winds have combined to make their efforts very hard.
At least 2,700 hectares of land were devastated.
“It was a scene really like the end of the world”, Caroline Vidal, a Vitrolles resident told iTele TV, describing the scene as she fled her home to her grandmother’s house and saw people running on the highway to escape.
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Since Friday, a spate of forest fires has also struck mainland Portugal as well as the north of the country, where temperatures have surged to 35 degrees Celsius.
