The Japan Times - France seeks to 'stabilise' wildfire raging in the south

With Europe facing fresh August heatwaves as concerns grow over the impact of global warming, many areas are on alert for wildfires.

Regional authorities in Spain said late on Wednesday that a wildfire near the Mediterranean tourist town of Tarifa that prompted evacuations had been stabilised.

Some 2,000 firefighters were still mobilised Thursday in France's southern Aude department to contain the blaze which started Tuesday. Thirteen people have been injured, two of them seriously.

"The objective is to stabilise the fire" and halt its progress by the end of the day, said Christophe Magny, chief of the Aude department's firefighter unit.

The fire advanced much more slowly overnight to Thursday than at the start, when it engulfed around 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) per hour, according to the authorities in the nearby city of Narbonne.

Weather conditions had become more favourable, after two days of strong and changing winds made the blaze's progress difficult to predict.

Firefighters warned that stronger winds were forecast for later Thursday, when local temperatures were set to reach 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit).

"We have to remain cautious," Magny said.

A 65-year-old woman, who had refused to evacuate, was found dead in her scorched house, while 13 people were injured, 11 of them firefighters.

- 'Unprecedented catastrophe' -

The wildfire is a "catastrophe on an unprecedented scale", said French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou Wednesday during a visit to the affected region.

"What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought," Bayrou added.

The blaze has burned some 17,000 hectares of land.

Some 3,000 homes were still threatenend by the fire Thursday, firefighters said, while around 1,000 people who had been evacuated in the area were not yet cleared to return home.

"I left everything behind me," said David Cerdan, a 51-year-old who fled Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.

The French wildfire is the country's biggest so far in a summer which has already seen some 9,000 fires, mainly along the Mediterranean coast, according to the emergency management service.

An investigation has been opened into the cause, said local officials, but there were no firm leads so far.

"All of the nation's resources are mobilised," President Emmanuel Macron said on X Wednesday, calling on people to exercise "the utmost caution".

The Aude department in particular has seen an increase in areas burnt in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the uprooting of vineyards, which used to help slow down the advance of fires.

The frequency of wildfires is taking a toll on local residents, said Aude Damesin, who lives in the town of Fabrezan.

"It's terrible for the wildlife, the flora, and for the people who are losing everything," she said.

- Spanish blaze under control -

In Spain's Tarifa, fire crews secured areas near hotels and other tourist accommodation after getting the blaze under control, local officials said.

Antonio Sanz, interior minister for Andalusia's regional government, said on X that "the return of all evacuated people" had been authorised after the fire was "stabilised".

Spanish public broadcaster TVE reported that the fire had started in a camper van at a beachside campsite, before being quickly spread by strong winds.

About 1,550 people and 5,500 vehicles were evacuated from campsites, hotels, and homes, Sanz said earlier.

Emergency crews had worked through the night to prevent the fire from reaching coastal resorts.

Climate experts say that global warming is driving longer, more intense and more frequent heatwaves around the world, making for more favourable forest fire conditions.

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H.Takahashi--JT