Major Wildfire in Southern France Kills One, Burns 14,000 ha

A forest fire that broke out in the Aude department in the south of France has covered an area of more than 14,000 hectares. The national meteorological service, Météo-France, has declared the highest (red) level of danger in the province.

This is the largest fire in 20 years.

The newspaper Le Parisien reported this. Since 2006, forest fires have been regularly recorded in France. The Marseille newspaper "La Provence" recalls that the largest forest fire recorded in the history of France is considered to be the forest fire of the Lande de Gascogne massif, which in 1949 engulfed 50,000 hectares of forest and claimed the lives of 82 people.

The fire in the Aude department broke out in the second half of August 5, and already on August 6, the local prefecture reported one victim. Another person is considered missing. Nine people were also injured, seven of whom are firefighters. About 2,000 firefighter-rescuers are involved in the firefighting efforts, and aircraft are involved.