&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "France wildfire spreading at 1.2 km per minute, endangers Marseille: 'Apocalyptic...guerrilla warfare'")
A wildfire in southern France on Tuesday threatened Marseille, the country's second-largest city, forcing its airport to shut down and interrupting railway traffic. Despite all efforts, the fire couldn't be contained, said the European nation's interior minister, Bruno Retailleau. The fire was fanning out due to high wind speeds and parched vegetation after a heatwave, firefighters said, adding that it had spread across a 1,730-acre area.
The fire, which started in a vehicle in the area of Pennes-Mirabeau, north of Marseille, sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday. 54 flights had to be cancelled and 14 were redirected. The train traffic was also highly impacted, with more than a dozen trains canceling their trips in and out of the city. The minister said 400 people had been evacuated and 63 houses sustained damage. At least 100 people were injured.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan warned residents on X that the fire was at the doors of the city. He also cautioned them against crowding the road in a bid to escape the city, to leave the way for rescue and fire services.
Retailleau said about 800 firefighters were pressed into fighting the fire that raged on "all night".
Mayor Payan said that the firefighter battalion was waging what he described as a "guerrilla warfare, hoses in hand", BBC reported.
The peak speed of the spread of the fire is 1.2 km per minute. Wind gusts, dense vegetation, and steep slopes are exacerbating an already delicate situation.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, who was on a state visit to the UK, urged residents to follow safety instructions
Julien Coffinier, the airport's president, said he had "never experienced a situation of this magnitude".
A resident of the city described the fire as "very striking and apocalyptic".
Meanwhile, another wildfire, fanning out with a speed of 60 km per hour, has destroyed 2000 hectares in Narbonne. More than 1,000 firefighters from around the country were seeking to contain it.