VILLEROUGE LA CREMADE, France (AP) — Firefighters and local authorities remained on high alert Friday after France’s largest wildfire in decades was contained in the south of the country, amid forecasts of very high temperatures which could reignite the blaze. Over three days, the fire spread across more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the Aude wine region and claimed one life, forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes. In hot and dry weather, the blaze quickly spread with a perimeter reaching 90 kilometers and local authorities said they need to remain vigilant throughout the weekend as temperatures are expected to rise above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) during another heat wave. Region administrator Christian Pouget said some 1,000 people have not yet been able to return to their homes after the fire swept through 15 communes in the Corbières mountain region, destroying or damaging at least 36 homes. One person died at home, and at least 21 others were injured, including 16 firefighters, according to local authorities. Some 1,300 homes were still without electricity on Friday morning after infrastructure was extensively damaged, the Aude prefecture said. Residents have been warned not to return home without authorization, as many roads remain blocked and dangerous. Those forced to flee have been housed in emergency shelters across 17 municipalities. “On Tuesday when the fire started, we learned that the inhabitants of the nearby village of Durban-Corbières were arriving in Tuchan,” Beatrice Bertrand, the mayor of Tuchan, told The Associated Press.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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