Uncontrolled wildfire in Pyrenees Orientales prompts international aid

A significant wildfire continues to rage in France's Pyrenees Orientales department, remaining uncontrolled despite efforts to stabilize it in some areas. The blaze, which ignited Saturday, has already consumed approximately 4,900 hectares of land.

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continues to spread and warned that, although it is stabilized in several places, it is not contained.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that reinforcements, including eight additional Air Tractor planes from Spain, Cyprus, and Sweden, will join the firefighting efforts. These resources will bolster the existing deployment of seven Canadair amphibious aircraft, two Dash 8 planes, and four water-bombing helicopters, alongside around 800 firefighters and 200 ground vehicles.

The firefighting operations face considerable challenges due to extreme weather conditions. Temperatures in the affected region have reached up to 40 degrees Celsius, with forecasts indicating further increases throughout the week. This heat, combined with dry winds, has elevated the fire risk to a very high level across the Pyrenees Orientales.

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conditions are not yet suitable for residents to return to their homes.

As a precautionary measure, about 10,000 people have been evacuated from more than twenty municipalities in the Aspres massif. Minister Nuñez stated that conditions are not yet suitable for residents to return to their homes. The provisional toll includes 11 minor injuries, seven of which were firefighters and four civilians. Around fifty buildings have been impacted by the fire, though not all have been destroyed. The fire has caused significant damage in the towns of Ille-sur-Têt, Rodès, and Vinça, and even affected a stage of the Tour de France.

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avoid throwing cigarette butts or lighting barbecues in risk areas.