Forest fire in south-west France burns 44 hectares of land
The blaze started on Sunday afternoon and took over seven hours to extinguish
There were not any reported injuries or damage to homes. Photo for illustrative purposes only
Stock Image / Shutterstock
A fire in south-west France has destroyed 44 hectares of land, mostly forest, with 150 firefighters remaining at the site today (August 12) to prevent any new blazes.
The fire broke out at around 15:00 on Sunday (August 11) in the Lot-et-Garonne department, on the border with Landes.
Around 20 people were evacuated from Durance where the blaze was at its fiercest. However no injuries were recorded, and no homes were damaged.
Firefighters fought the blaze until around 22:30 when it was eventually brought under control.
150 firefighters from across the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region have remained in the area to prevent new fires from starting, with the land more susceptible to blazes starting up after already being damaged.
They are expected to stay there a number of days, to ensure the area is safe.
Village came close to burning
Durance escaped unscathed, however at times looked close to being seriously affected by the blaze.
At around 17:00, strong winds in the area coupled with the heat (temperatures were around 40C) caused a number of smaller fires to break out in the area.
These were then pushed back towards the direction of the village by the wind.
Firefighters however managed to prevent the fire from spreading further.
The commune was prepared for the blaze, after being placed on a heightened warning for heat waves by state forecaster Météo France.
Read more: Weather in France August 12 – August 16: Forecast by area this week
Two water bombers had been deployed at the nearby Marmande airport – subsequently used to fight the fire – and a local detachment of firefighters were on alert.
They arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of the fire starting.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but the heatwave in the area, mixed with the strong winds, contributed to its rapid spread.
Read more: Alert over fire risk in French forests as most blazes caused by people
A number of departments are facing increased forest fire warnings today and tomorrow (August 13) due to the current heatwave.
You can see the warnings on the Météo France website here.
Read more: How does France's wildfire risk forecast work? Where can I see it?
