Heavy smoke can be seen for miles, and at one point posed enough danger that officials shut down flight operations at Marseilles’ airport.
Advertisement
The most unsafe fire was burning around Fos-Sur-Mer, 25 miles northwest of Marseille, which is home to a large vast industrial zone where oil and petrochemicals are stocked.
At the port of Fos-sur-Mer, northwest of Marseille, 800 ha. went up in flames on Wednesday and caused fears for the safety of oil and chemical terminals.
The French fires took hold on Wednesday afternoon and spread over more than 3,300 hectares of scrubland and wooded areas. Hundreds of miles away, a fire swept overnight into Funchal, the capital of Portugal’s Madeira Islands, killing three elderly people and leaving more than 300 with minor burns and smoke inhalation.
Meanwhile, Spanish authorities said five major fires were raging in the northwestern region of Galicia, with 10 others under control.
French President Francois Hollande said the authorities believe some of the fires were started deliberately and vowed that the perpetrators would be tracked down.
The inferno engulfed homes and at least one school in the region. The Marseille airport said it was rerouting incoming flights to make way for firefighting aircraft.
The fires had broken out on Monday on the island known as the “Pearl of the Atlantic”, where three people perished in their homes close to the historic centre of Funchal.
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.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa visited the island Thursday, surveying the damage from the fires and tweeting: “Now we must move on to the next phase: restoring confidence and rebuilding what there is to rebuild”.
At least 1,800 firefighters and 400 police officers have been brought in to battle the blazes.
Advertisement
Portugal’s European Union partners have answered a call to assist and an Italian air tanker will join two Spanish water bombers already deployed, while Morocco has also offered to contribute two additional planes.
