France wildfires force thousands to flee; Portugal's Madeira fire still raging

France wildfires force thousands to flee; Portugal's Madeira fire still raging
by AFP Staff Writers
Marseille (AFP) Aug 19, 2024
Two wildfires in southern France forced several thousand people to flee before the blazes were brought under control, officials said on Monday.

Some 3,000 holiday makers were evacuated from a camping site to a municipal building in the coastal town of Canet-en-Roussillon, near the city of Perpignan, in the face of a fire fanned by strong winds, rescue services said in a statement.

The fire, which destroyed one mobile home and partially damaged five others, was brought under control, they said.

Further up the Mediterranean coast, a fire that forced dozens from their homes in the coastal town of Frontignan, near the city of Montpellier, was also quelled.

"The fire has been under control for two and a half hours now," a spokesman for the regional firefighters, Jerome Bonnafoux, told AFP shortly after sunrise.

"We're still working on it because there are several hot spots where the risk of it flaring are high," he added.

Of the 600 firefighters who rushed to put out the fire on Sunday, half were expected to keep working on the site throughout the day, he added.

The fire, which has destroyed at least 300 hectares (740 acres) of land, ignited near the A9 highway from Montpellier to the Spanish border.

Firefighters emptied the swimming pools of private homeowners to tackle the blaze, the mayor's cabinet director said.

Forest fire on Portugal's Madeira raging after five days
Lisbon (AFP) Aug 19, 2024 - A vast forest fire that has raged on the Portuguese island of Madeira for five days has been partially brought under control, officials said Monday.

At least 5,000 hectares (12,355 acres) of trees and vegetation has so far been destroyed by the blaze on the holiday island, with one of its three fronts still burning, local authorities said.

The fire began Wednesday in the rural Ribeira Brava area in the west of the Atlantic island before spreading, fanned by the winds and high temperatures, to the neighbouring Camara de Lobos and Ponta do Sol districts.

Some 160 people were evacuated from their homes Sunday as 200 firefighters attempted to tackle the blaze in difficult to access hilly terrain.

But Miguel Albuquerque, head of the regional government, told reporters that no one had been killed and "no homes or essential infrastructure has been destroyed".

All those evacuated have since returned to their homes.

Leonel Silva, the mayor of Camara de Lobos, said the two fronts of the blaze in his district had been brought under control. "The fire is practically out there," he told the Lusa news agency.

The third front in Ponta do Sol is still ablaze, according to mayor Celia Pessegueiro, but no homes are under threat.

Portugal sent 76 firefighters from the mainland Saturday to reinforce brigades on the island, which is some 500 kilometres (300 miles) off Morocco.