A wildfire in the Corbieres hills in southwestern France, inland from the Mediterranean coast, has already closed a major highway and left nine people injured, one critically, local officials said.
The fire started in the town of Ribaute and has since spread over 11,000 hectares, the affected Aude department said on social media in an update early on Wednesday morning.
Seven firefighters and two other people have been injured, “including one person in critical condition with severe burns,” Aude department said.
Another fire had since broken out some 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of the original blaze.
Camping grounds and one village were partially evacuated in the department, and several local roads were closed.
Authorities shut parts of the A9 motorway linking France to Spain on Tuesday. The section between the cities of Perpignon and Narbonne in both directions has been affected, France’s fire agency and Aude department said on social media.
Late Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X the fire was progressing and that “all the nation’s resources were mobilized.”
“The fire is spreading very quickly because the weather conditions are unfavorable. It’s one of the driest areas in the department and the wind is strong,” Lucie Roesch, secretary general of Aude prefecture, told AFP news agency on Tuesday.
More than 1,200 firefighters have been mobilized to battle the flames, supported by water bomber planes, Aude prefecture said on X.
A video posted on X Tuesday afternoon by the French Fire Brigade showed flames roaring behind a village and the sky dark with smoke.
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
