On the afternoon of August 5th, local time, a wildfire broke out in the Aude department in southern France. The blaze has already claimed the life of one person, with at least 13 others injured, 11 of whom are firefighters. Three individuals are also reported missing.
As of August 7th, the fire is still spreading uncontrollably.
French officials announced on the evening of August 6th that the wildfire has reached 15 towns, covering an area of over 12,000 hectares, surpassing the size of Paris and becoming the largest wildfire in France in decades.
French Prime Minister François Bayrou visited the affected areas and described the natural disaster as “unprecedented.”
Local authorities confirmed that the victim of the wildfire was a woman in her sixties from Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, who tragically refused to evacuate as the flames engulfed the village.
Weather forecasts indicate that there will be no rainfall for at least the next week, posing challenges to firefighting efforts. However, extreme strong winds that could intensify the fire are not expected.
Southern France has been experiencing high temperatures and moderate to severe drought this summer. Other European countries, including Scotland, Spain, Greece, and Turkey, are also grappling with significant wildfires under record-breaking heatwaves. The entire Southern Europe region has witnessed large-scale wildfires this summer.