Emergency services in southern France are deliberately setting backfires to stop the spread of the blaze. Pierre Regnault de la Mothe, prefect of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, said Tuesday morning that residents from about 20 municipalities were affected. Firefighters managed to prevent further expansion of the fire near Perpignan overnight.
Since the fire broke out on Saturday evening in Trévillach, around 800 firefighters have been mobilized. So far, 4,900 hectares have burned. Eleven people were slightly injured, including seven firefighters, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Monday evening. The strategy of “tactical fires” could not be implemented at the fire front in front of the Aspres massif due to unfavorable weather, the prefect said.
The firefighting efforts are being hampered by the ongoing heatwave and a dry breeze. Charlotte Couture, regional fire expert at the weather service Météo-France, said the department has had no rain at all for more than a month. On Tuesday, additional firefighting aircraft from France and European partners were expected to be deployed.
Source: www.tagesspiegel.de
