Fires force evacuation of 10,000 in French Riviera
AT RISK France’s coast has massive forests which are often dry in summer
ordered the evacuation of 10,000 people as fires hopscotched around the French Riviera for a third day on Wednesday, tearing through the forest of La Londeles-Maures.
A violent fire took off in the dry Mediterranean forests around La Londe the night before, and 540 firefighters were sent into the region, the prefect of the Var region, the top state official, said in a statement.
About 3,000 campers were among those evacuated from La Londe and nearby Bormes-lesMimosas and La Lavandou, the statement said.
Four tracker planes and a firefighting aircraft were sent in. About 800 hectares of back-country forest had burned by morning.
Fires began raging along the coast on Monday, forcing smaller, scattered evacuations with flames reaching a corner of Saint-Tropez. Since noon on Tuesday, firefighters had conducted about 100 operations, the prefecture said.
Further east, reinforcements were sent in to battle a blaze in Artigues that burned up to 1,700 hectares of forested land.
Another fire was contained Tuesday evening in La Croix Valmer after burning two villas, seriously injuring one firefighter and devouring about 500 hectares.
France’s Mediterranean coast is particularly vulnerable to fires, with its massive back-country forests, often dry in the summer, and Mistral winds blowing across the sea to fan flames. Smoke blew across the shores from the fires that were visible across bays on the picturesque coast, frightening some. But firefighters warned against panic. No injuries have been reported among residents and vacationers.
Further south, flames ate through some 2,000 hectares of forest on the northern end of the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, in what was the largest blaze.