Wildfire in southern France forces about 10,000 to evacuate
A fast-moving wildfire in southern France near the Spanish border has burned more than 1,500 hectares and forced roughly 10,000 people to evacuate , authorities said on July 5. Firefighters were fighting the blaze from the ground and by air, and officials were assessing possible disruption to the Tour de France, which is routing through the region. No casualties were reported in the initial accounts.
The fire follows weeks of extreme heat across Europe that have primed vegetation to burn and stretched emergency services. Southern France’s Mediterranean scrubland is fire-prone in summer, but the scale of the evacuation points to conditions dry and windy enough to move the fire faster than crews can contain it. The immediate concern is protecting evacuated communities and preventing the blaze from reaching more populated areas.