THOUSANDS IN SOUTH OF FRANCE FLEE BUSH FIRES
▶ Areas of south coast and parts of island of Corsica reduced to ashes
Thousands of people were moved to safety overnight after another brush fire broke out in southern France, where huge blazes have already destroyed large areas of forest.
The latest outbreak came a day after France asked for the European Union’s help to tackle the flames raging in the south, including one near the holiday resort of Saint-Tropez.
A fire official said at least 10,000 people were moved from the area near Bormes-les-Mimosas on the Mediterranean coast. “It’s an area that doubles or triples its population in summer,” he said.
Visitor numbers on France’s Cote d’Azur also rise sharply in July and August as holidaymakers head to the beach.
On Tuesday, more than 4,000 firefighters and troops backed by 19 water bombers battled the blazes, which have left thousands of hectares of charred earth in their wake.
Twelve firefighters have been injured and 15 police officers have suffered smoke inhalation since the fires broke out on Monday.
The next day the flames destroyed about 4,000 hectares on the Mediterranean coast, in the mountainous interior and on the island of Corsica.
With strong winds and dry brush creating a dangerous mix, the government asked its EU partners to send two more firefighting planes – a request promptly fulfilled by Italy.
One EU official criticised what he said was a lack of spare parts that prevented all of the aircraft required from being put into action.
On a visit to Corsica on Tuesday, interior minister Gerard Collomb announced that France would be adding six firefighting planes to its fleet.
A fire at La Croix-Valmer near Saint-Tropez had been contained, fire chief Philippe Gambe de Vergnes said on Tuesday.
But the blaze had destroyed 400 hectares of coastal forest in an area dotted with homes, he said. More than 200 people had to be moved from the area.
The deputy mayor of La Croix-Valmer, Rene Carandante, described a desolate landscape of blackened headlands fringed by charred umbrella pines, where green forest had once framed the azure waters of the Mediterranean. “It’s a disaster area. There’s nothing left,” Mr Carandante said.
Francois Fouchier, of a coastal conservation group, said that much local wildlife, such as Hermann’s tortoises, would die in the fires.
About 80 kilometres inland, 300 hectares of pines and oaks went up in smoke near the village of Saint-Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume. An official accused the authorities of failing to regularly remove tinder-dry undergrowth, making the forest a fire hazard.
The French island of Corsica, situated midway between France and Italy, was also assessing the damage.
In the end, disaster was averted after the wind died down, but the blaze engulfed 1,800 hectares of forest and destroyed several vehicles.
In Carros, north of Nice, a house, three vehicles and a warehouse went up in flames.
Mayor Charles Scibetta described waking up to a “lunar landscape” and said the inhabitants had a lucky escape.
“All of France is mobilised,” said the head of the fire service in south-east France, Col Gregory Allione. He said extra firefighters had been brought in from the north.
Thomas Curt, a director at the Irsea institute for research into the environment and agriculture, said a decrease in farming in south-east France since the 1970s had made it more prone to fires. “Farmland is contracting and the forest is naturally expanding, making the area bushier,” Mr Curt said.
An increase in the number of homes, roads and powerlines near forests also increased the fire hazard, he said.
In mid-July, a blaze believed to have been started by a cigarette butt razed 800 hectares of land near Aix-en-Provence.
Portugal, meanwhile, which last month suffered deadly forest fires, has been battling blazes since Sunday, forcing the evacuation of 10 villages.