Thousands of people have been evacuated from homes and vacation spots near the French Riviera as firefighters battle a fire racing through surrounding forests, sending smoke pouring down wooded slopes toward vineyards in the picturesque area. It is just the latest blaze in a summer of wildfires that have swept across the Mediterranean region, leaving areas in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Algeria and Spain in smoldering ruins.
The wildfire started Monday evening, in the height of France’s summer vacation season, about 40 km inland from the coastal resort of Saint-Tropez. Fueled by powerful seasonal winds coming off the Mediterranean Sea, the fire had spread across 5,000 hectares of forest by Tuesday morning, according to the Var regional administration.
Some 6,000 people have been evacuated from homes and a dozen campgrounds in the picturesque region popular with vacationers, while others were locked down in a holiday center for Air France employees.
Backed by water-dumping planes and helicopters, more than 900 firefighters worked Tuesday to contain the blaze. Local authorities closed roads and blocked access to forests across the region and urged caution.
One evacuee told France-Bleu that smoke enveloped his car as he returned to his campsite and he had just enough time to grab his baby daughter’s milk and basic belongings before fleeing. Another told BFM television about escaping as his hotel caught fire.
The regional administration warned that fire risk would remain very high through Wednesday because of hot, dry weather. Temperatures in the area have reached 40 degrees C in recent days.
Intense heat and wildfires have also struck countries around southern Europe and North Africa in recent weeks, with fires killing at least 75 people in Algeria and 16 in Turkey.
Greece
Meanwhile, in Greece on Tuesday, hundreds of firefighters backed by water-dropping planes were battling a large forest fire that has led to the evacuation of a care home and several villages northwest of Athens.
Hundreds of wildfires have burned across Greece this month, fueled by the country’s longest and most severe heat wave in decades that left its forests and shrubland bone dry. Italy has also seen several fire-related deaths.
Israel
Also Tuesday, Israeli firefighters worked for a third consecutive day to contain a wildfire that has consumed a large swath of forest west of Jerusalem and threatened several communities. Israeli leaders have appealed to their international allies as firefighters battled wildfires near Jerusalem after the blaze forced hundreds of residents from their homes.
Israel Fire and Rescue service said that 75 firefighting teams accompanied by 12 planes were working to contain a series of fires in the forested hills west of the city.
At least 17 square kilometers (6.5 square miles) of forest have already burned, according to official tallies, making it one of the largest wildfires in the country’s history.
Worsening drought and heat — linked to climate change — have also fueled wildfires this summer in the western United States and in Russia’s northern Siberia region.