Thousands of holidaymakers and residents have been forced to leave campsites and homes due to a wildfire that is quickly spreading throughout most of southwestern France.
It initially started in the Pyrenees region and hit several towns located on the Spanish and French border. Consequently, the relevant authorities carried out mass evacuations.
During this evacuation, more than 3,000 locals and tourists alike were forced to move from two housing estates and four campsites situated near the Argelès-sur-Mer and Saint-André.
The authorities spring into action
The southern regions of the city of Perpignan were cleared within hours, while firefighters made attempts to contain the rising blaze.
Soon after, the inferno started to reach the populated areas and spread to more than 500 hectares of land located in the Pyrenees-Orientales region.
This area has received the brunt of the impact of the ongoing drought this year. Numerous firefighters and a couple of aircraft were quickly deployed to help tame the fire before it spread even further.
The speed with which the blaze spread was unprecedented, but the high winds and temperatures went up to 80 kilometers per hour, worsening the situation.
Due to these extreme conditions, around 17 firefighters were severely injured. They had been trying to contain the flames but were unsuccessful. One of the firefighters was also taken to the hospital.
No less than thirty houses, a warehouse, and a campsite were seriously damaged. Roads were also blocked, and the train services to and from the Spanish border had been temporarily suspended.
The wildfire under control
By Tuesday, the authorities had managed to contain the fire and holidaymakers were permitted to return to their respective campsites.
However, experts on the matter warned that there was still a possibility of additional wildfires erupting all of a sudden.
Rodrigue Furcy, the Senior regional official, took to the French radio station to announce the good news. But, he further added that the area would remain closed while the firefighters kept a close eye on the situation at hand.
Moreover, he explained that while the fire had been contained, it was still ablaze. Reassuring the people, the official said that things had been brought under control.
Gerald Darmanin, the Interior Minister, has also asked the holidaymakers and the population to remain highly vigilant of their surroundings.
Authorities on high alert
Various regions in France are still at risk of extreme heat, which is why authorities have been told to remain extremely alert.
On Monday, 14th August, the regions of Haute-Savoie and Savoie, located at the French-Swiss border were marked as orange, which is a level below the highest warning.
Meanwhile, the Isère and Ain departments were put on heatwave watch back on Sunday. The third biggest city of France, Rhône was also put on the list of cities that are to stay alert.
As of now, extreme temperatures have been forecasted for the region of Pyrénées-Orientales as the week progresses.
A spike of 39 degrees Celcius has also been predicted, on account of a hot southerly wind, which is making its rounds in the mountains.
