Thousands evacuated in southern France as new heatwave fuels wildfires

Some 5,000 people were evacuated from villages in southern France on Sunday as firefighters battled a rapidly spreading wildfire amid another heatwave, authorities said.

The prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales region said the evacuations took place in a mountain range west of the city of Perpignan.

Local broadcaster BFMTV said 1,650 hectares have already been ravaged by the flames. One resident and one firefighter have suffered life-threatening injuries, it reported.

The fire has already led to changes to the third stage of the Tour de France, which is due to pass through the affected region on Monday and will now take place without spectators or the advertising caravan.

“The wildfire of exceptional proportions currently raging in the Pyrénées-Orientales requires a massive deployment of our fire service’s wildfire-fighting resources, as well as those of the internal security forces and all government agencies,” Prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe said.

“The absolute and unequivocal priority is, of course, the protection of the population, property and natural areas, as well as containing the fire.”

The national weather service, Météo France, has warned of a high risk of forest fires on Monday, issuing the highest red alert level for seven regions in the south-east of the country. Another 41 regions face an elevated risk of forest fires, according to the weather service.

Forest and vegetation fires have broken out in other regions of France as well, including in the Gard region in the south of the country. In Lédenon, which lies between Avignon and Nîmes, a section of the motorway leading towards Spain had to be closed due to a fire.