FONTJONCOUSE: Firefighters have contained a massive wildfire in southern France but local officials warned on Sunday that scorching heat and dry conditions could reignite the blaze, as parts of the Mediterranean region face a heatwave.
The fire has ravaged a vast area of France’s southern Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and injuring several others.
Authorities said that hot, dry winds on Sunday — similar to those on the day the blaze began — and a heatwave would make the work of firefighters more difficult.
“It’s a challenging day, given that we are likely to be on red alert for heatwave from 4:00 pm, which will not make things any easier,” said Christian Pouget, prefect of the Aude department.
The fire is no longer spreading but is still burning within a 16,000-hectare area, said Christophe Magny on Saturday, chief of the region’s firefighter unit, adding it would not be under control until Sunday evening.
But the blaze will “not be extinguished for several weeks,” he said.
Some 1,300 firefighters were mobilized to prevent the blaze from reigniting amid fears that the tramontane wind, which officials said picked up overnight Saturday to Sunday, could fan lingering hot spots.
Temperatures this weekend are expected to hit 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, and Monday is forecast to be the “hottest day nationwide,” according to national weather service Meteo France.
In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead on Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames.
Authorities said one resident suffered serious burns and four others were lightly injured, while 19 firefighters were hurt, including one with a head injury.
Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.
The blaze — the largest in at least 50 years — tore through 16,000 hectares of vegetation, disaster officials said.
For livestock farmers in Fontjoncouse, the fire has ravaged grazing land and wiped out much of their flocks, fueling outrage among those who said they did not have time to evacuate their herds.
Emmanuelle Bernier said she was “extremely angry” when she returned to a devastating scene, finding the pen that had housed her herd of goats in ruins, with 17 animals — some close to giving birth — lost in the fire.
“I will definitely change jobs. This will change my whole life,” she said.
Bernier’s property now holds only a few geese and two sick goats after she had to temporarily entrust her surviving sheep to a local winegrower, as the damage to the farm was so extensive that they could no longer stay.
“Everything here was built around the sheep, and seeing the flock leave was incredibly difficult for me,” she said.
But as she surveyed the scorched landscape, Bernier voiced some hope for the future.
“There’s still a little life left,” she said.
