Around 2,000 French firefighters are fighting to contain the fast-moving flames that have burned areas larger than Paris, killing older women.
The 16,000 hectares of fire is the largest year so far, local officials said Wednesday.
“We lament the death of an elderly woman of St. Laurent de la Cabreris who doesn’t seem to want to leave her home,” local official Remi Recio told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
The Blaze, which occurred Tuesday afternoon near Ribaute in the Aude division, injured two civilians and seven firefighters, Recio added.
“This is an unprecedented proportion of catastrophe,” said French Prime Minister François Bailloux. Bayrou stressed at a press conference that the event was “related to climate change and drought.”
Approximately 1,250 firefighters are fighting the flames. More resources, including three helicopters and dozens of soldiers, will also be mobilized Thursday, Retero said at the same event.
The Ministry of Ecological Transition said in a press release that the fire “indicates the scale of the outcome of climate change,” saying, “it alone represents the equivalent of all hectares burned in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2024, doubled in 2023.”
He added that 25 homes have been affected, dozens of vehicles have been burned, and the drought conditions are accelerating the spread of the fire.
Firefighters briefings on Wednesday Bayrou and Retailleau said within an hour the fire had burned more than 1,500 hectares. The flame then consumed about 1,000 hectares per hour, firefighters added.
Christophe Manny, head of the Ode Regional Fire Force, told BFMTV that extreme weather conditions, combining extreme humidity (25%), winds above 30 km/h and temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius, created the ideal conditions for the fire to spread.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday morning that “the Ode wildfire is ongoing” and that “in this ordeal, everyone must follow the directions of the authorities with the utmost care.”
On Wednesday morning, air operations resumed with heavy helicopters that could carry four tons of water, and four Canadia water bombers that could support ground crews with four dash aircraft.
This is a “disaster of an unprecedented scale,” firefighter spokesman Eric Brocardi told RTL Radio on Wednesday.
“The very tentative material toll shows around 30 vehicles burned out and 25 homes affected by the flames. Currently, 2,500 homes are not powered,” Aude County said in a press release Wednesday. “The fire remains very active and weather conditions will still be at a disadvantage on August 6th.”
According to Reuters, Dutch tourist Renate Koot, who is on vacation in San Laurent de la Cabreris, fled the area with her partner.
“At one moment we were on the phone with the kids… thinking, ‘Look, fire!’ We then jumped into the car and left, praying for protection. “We’re fine. Miraculously.”
“It’s incredible. It’s a catastrophe,” said Issa Medina, a Spanish national who was with the family of San Laurent de la Cabreris.
Officials and experts warn that winds could change, complicating efforts to combat wildfires.
The hot, dry summers in the Mediterranean make the area particularly vulnerable to wildfires, scientists say. When fired, local fires can escalate quickly due to their abundance of dry vegetation and strong winds, making them difficult to contain.
“Climate change is expected to increase the risk of wildfires over the summer, but it will extend into autumn and spring, spreading towards the southwest, the Centre and northern France.”
According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Services, Europe is the fastest continent in the world, with temperatures rising twice the global average since the 1980s.
