Fire outbreak in France destroys 1, 260 hectares

Local authorities said that a forest fire in the southern Aveyron area of France has rekindled, forcing the evacuation of 1,000 more residents and consuming a total of 1,260 hectares of land.

This summer, France saw a catastrophic drought, several heatwaves, and numerous forest fires, especially in the South-West.

The Aveyron fire, which has been raging since Monday, appeared to be out of control and fading down on Saturday afternoon before it abruptly rekindled in a "virulent" way and devoured 500 more hectares (1,235 acres), according to the prefecture.

According to the report, at least 1,000 residents of the Mostuejols village, which is close to Millau and six other hamlets, were evacuated.

3,000 people were evacuated due to the fire, but they were permitted to return once it appeared to be under control. There have been no casualties associated with the fire as of yet.

A local guy was being looked into for unintentionally sparking the fire after a metal component of his trailer brushed across the road, igniting the parched grass.

To reduce the risk of forest fires starting, police in eastern France said on Saturday that they were prohibiting admission to the majority of the forests in the Bas-Rhin region near the German border.

Another fire that started on Tuesday in the southwest Gironde region near Bordeaux was put out following rain overnight, a senior official reported.

The situation “considerably improved during the night,” Arnaud Mendousse, of Gironde fire and rescue, said.

He said there had been between 10 and 30 mm of rain in the region but on “terrain that is extremely dry.”

"We are aware that while this provides a break, the conflict is still ongoing. We are aware that the risk will significantly rise in the following 48 to 72 hours if it doesn't rain.

Mendousse said that the temperature was only about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and that the humidity had increased, adding that "the fire is not entirely extinguished and the soil remains extremely hot."

Along with five water-bombing planes from the EU fleet, the members of the European Union—including Germany, Poland, Austria, and Romania—have agreed to send 361 additional firefighters to join the nearly 1,100 French firefighters already on the ground.

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