Two people died in the biggest wildfire in France in summer, and local authorities confirmed that the fire in the countryside behind Saint-Tropez continued to raging.
The local prosecutor Patrice Camberu told France 3 TV channel that at least one man was among the dead. He said that another body was found in a destroyed house in Grimmauld, which was severely burned and could not be identified.
France has deployed 1,200 firefighters and a dozen planes to try to control the fire that broke out near the highway rest station on Monday night. 5,000 hectares have been torn apart (12,350 acres) in the southeast area of Var. Firefighters told AFP that although the fire slowed down on Tuesday night, it was still not under control.
Approximately 10,000 people, including tourists on the French Riviera, have been evacuated and spent the night at the welcome center in the area.
The local county said 29 people were injured, including 5 firefighters, most of whom inhaled smoke.
French President Emmanuel Macron (Emmanuel Macron) visited the area on Tuesday before announcing the death. He said: “The worst has been avoided.”
Only now has France survived wildfires Consumes other parts of the Mediterranean This summer, including in Greece, Spain, Turkey, Italy and Algeria.
Delphine Oberti, a resident of Cavalaire-sur-Mer, fled her home with her two children and took refuge at her parents’ house when the embers began to fall. Her husband stayed to defend their house. “This is the end of the world,” she said. “The sky is red, we can’t breathe, we can’t see the neighbor’s house.
“My children are very upset, and my 6-year-old son only talks about fire.”
However, Obetti, who works in Grimaud, said they were lucky-their home was not lost and they have been able to return.
Park ranger Marie-Claude Serra said the fire has destroyed more than 50% of the Plaindmore Nature Reserve in the region’s biodiversity hotspot. Since the flames are still not under control, she has not fully investigated the extent of the damage to the park, which is home to 240 protected species, including reptiles, bats and the endangered Hermann tortoise.
“In this human disaster, what is worrying is that we are also experiencing an ecological disaster,” Serra said.
Recent weather conditions have made the reserve extremely vulnerable to wildfires. “There is very little water in plants. This, combined with the heat and wind, produces the explosive cocktail we are now experiencing-devastating fires that move very, very fast,” Serra said.
“We need to stop asking if climate change exists. It’s here-how will we deal with it?”
Firefighters told BFM TV that the 2021 fire spread faster than previous catastrophic fires in the area. In 2003, 4 people died in southern France and more than 70,000 hectares of land were burned.
Firefighters also fought the fires in the Aude region in the southwest and Beaumes-de-Venices in Provence.
