Three people have been killed on the holiday island and more than 1,000 have been forced from their homes.
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The fire prompted the evacuations in the town of Vitrolles, located about 15 miles northwest of Marseilles. At least 2,700 hectares (6,670 acres) of land were devastated.
Interior Minister Barnard Cazeneuve says four firefighters were injured, three seriously, by another fire in the nearby Herault region.
Most commercial air flights leaving Marseille were delayed or cancelled, according to the local airport’s website.
A French fireman walks in the road as smoke fills the sky and blocks the sun as fires burn north of Marseille, France, August 10, 2016. “There is nothing left”, a distressed resident of Vitrolles, identified only as Sylvestre, told BFM-TV. Fire officials said Wednesday that they are now utilizing efforts to keep the fast-moving flames from that port city, France’s second-largest. High winds blew flames through dense brush in the backcountry, which was dry from a summer that saw little rain.
A fourth death was reported on the Portuguese mainland as wildfires raged in central regions.
Dramatic images showed a helicopter battling to douse a blazing hillside with water just metres from a motorway close to Vitrolles, while one person was seriously injured in nearby Rognac.
“Everything burned, the house, the vehicle …”
Hundreds of children and adults were evacuated Wednesday from recreation centers and homes in the town of Vitrolles, north of Marseille.
“The fire is progressing”.
Deputy Mayor Julien Ruas said firebreaks had been created to protect northern neighbourhoods. “The fire is extremely powerful, fast, explosive, and continues burning everything in its path”.
About 1,800 firemen battled the blazes, backed up by firefighting airplanes, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told French news channel BFM TV.
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More than 1,500 firefighters are tackling the blazes which sprang up in scrubland north of the city. Albuquerque, the regional government chief, said officials suspect that fire was started deliberately and police have made two arrests.
