One dead as France battles Riviera inferno
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LE LUC (France) • Hundreds of firefighters yesterday struggled for a third day to contain France's worst wildfire of the summer near the glitzy Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez which has left one person dead and forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
The blaze has scorched some 5,000ha since it started in the Plaine des Maures nature reserve on Monday. The region is known for its forests, vineyards and fauna.
The fire had not spread during the night but that does not mean it is under control, said the fire service spokesman for the Var region, Mr Franck Graciano.
"We will carry out the same basic work as yesterday by dropping water on the critical places," he said.
The local authorities said in a statement that one person had died, the first confirmed fatality from this wildfire. The statement did not give the victim's identity or say how the person had died.
Twenty-two people have suffered light injuries, including 19 who inhaled toxic fumes, the authorities said. Five firefighters have also been lightly injured.
Some 1,200 firefighters were deployed, some using high-pressure hoses and water-bombing planes and helicopters to control the flames. High temperatures and strong winds forced the local authorities to evacuate around 7,000 people from homes and campsites, the Var prefecture said on Tuesday, many to the safety of municipal buildings and schools.
Among them were 1,300 people staying at a campsite in the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas down the coast from Saint-Tropez.
Others fled the village of La-Garde-Freinet, but there were no new evacuations overnight, the fire service said yesterday.
The coming hours will be decisive for the firefighting effort, said President Emmanuel Macron who is taking his summer break on the Mediterranean coast and visited the first responders on Tuesday.
While Mr Macron said "the battle is ongoing and the fire has not yet been contained, stabilised", he noted that the firefighters' courage had led to the worst being avoided.
After a fairly calm night on Tuesday, technicians yesterday began trying to restore phone and electricity lines.
Large blazes have already ravaged parts of Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco this year.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
