France’s biggest wildfire of the summer has eclipsed the size of Paris and is still spreading

The largest forest fire in France for years has spread quickly in a Mediterranean region near Spain after leaving a person and several injured on Wednesday, the authorities announced. The fire burned an area larger than Paris, and the army was called to help.

French Prime Minister François Bayrou deplored an “disaster on an unprecedented scale” in the region.

More than 2100 firefighters and several water bombers fought the fire that broke out Tuesday afternoon in the village of Ribaute in the Aude region, a rural wooded area that houses vineyards.

The fire, which burned 39,500 acres, remained “very active” on Wednesday and continued to progress as night fell, said the local administration. The weather was hot, dry and windy, which makes firefighters contain the fire.

The villagers sought to help turn off the flames or save their house and small businesses, and described their alarm at the speed of the fire. The ashes filled the air and the coated windows and cars, and several roads were closed in the region.

“The sky was blue, then less than an hour later, the sky was orange,” said Andy the pick-up of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, in the heart of the fire zone. “This is where we came out and tried to help.”

“We heard pops and cracks-it was the trees, it was the village,” he told the Associated Press. “We could see the fires settle on all the hills around Saint-Laurent.” At twilight, he said, they saw fires in all directions, certain at 100 meters.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the soldiers would strengthen efforts from Thursday, with several dozen soldiers to deploy.

One person died at their home and at least 13 other people were injured, including 11 firefighters, local authorities said. Three people were missing, said the prefecture.

Jacques Piraux, mayor of the village of Jonquières, said that all residents had been evacuated.

“It’s a scene of sadness and desolation,” he told BFM TV broadcaster after visiting it on Wednesday morning. “It looks like a lunar landscape, everything is burned. More than half or three -quarters of the village have burned. It is hellish.”

Residents and tourists in neighboring areas were invited to stay at home, unless you have been invoked. Two campsite were evacuated as a precaution.

The Prime Minister met Wednesday afternoon with firefighters and residents of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, where the command post of the fire service was set up. He said he came to express “national solidarity”.

The region’s economy is based on the cellar and tourism and “the two sectors are affected,” he said.

Bayrou said that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

The Ministry of the Environment said that the Aude region had suffered drought this month, with restrictions on water consumption in place. The lack of precipitation in recent months “has played a major role in the spread of the fire, because the vegetation is very dry,” the statement said.

This week’s fire has been the largest since the creation of a national fire database in 2006, according to the National Emergency Service.

South Europe has experienced several big fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change exacerbates the frequency and intensity of heat and drought, which makes the region more vulnerable to forest fires. Last month, a forest fire that reached the southern port of Marseille, the second largest city in France, made around 300 people injured.

Europe is the fastest continent in the world, temperatures increasing the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the Copernicus Climate Service of the European Union, twice.

“We have lived here for 10 years and we have not seen anything like it,” said the pick-up. “Regularly summers become warmer, there is less and less rain, and this is a major problem. ”

“We were told that the wind could make itself stronger tomorrow,” he added.