France's first major forest fire devours 1,000 hectares
Under control but not fully extinguished
The forest fire as per Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin was brought under control early on Monday. However, it is not yet fully extinguished.
"We deplore the loss of nearly 1,000 hectares," said Darmanin as he warned that France was headed for "an extremely difficult summer 2023, possibly as difficult as summer 2022."
Last year's fires
The blaze has sparked fears of a repeat of last summer's exceptional conflagrations as southern Europe remains gripped by drought.
Last year, 785,000 hectares were destroyed in Europe - more than double the annual average for the past 16 years, according to European Commission (EC) statistics.
Aerial view of fire
An unusually dry winter across parts of the south of the European continent has reduced moisture in the soil and raised fears of a repeat of 2022.
Some districts in southern France have already implemented water restrictions. Additionally, the French geological institute has warned that low groundwater reserves could lead to an even more severe drought this summer.
Fighting fire
As per the regional prefecture around 500 firefighters were mobilised to fight the fire on Sunday evening. Of them, one was injured slightly by the fire, disclosed Interior Minister Darmanin.
The evacuations
The fire eventually crossed the border into Spain, destroying more than 500 hectares and forcing around 50 people to evacuate, according to the Catalan fire services.
Approximately 300 people were evacuated from Cerbere, but most were able to go back to their homes by Sunday night, the statement said.
No one was hurt
The fire crews managed to prevent the fire from engulfing the villages. Only four houses were damaged and no one among the inhabitants was injured, said the prefecture.
)
)
)
)
)