An intense fire burned through 8,000 hectares (nearly 20,000 acres) in southern France on Tuesday, August 5, closing a major motorway and leaving two people injured, one critically, local officials said.
The fire raged in the Corbières hills in the Aude department, inland from the Mediterranean, causing authorities to shut the A9 motorway linking France to Spain. Campgrounds and one village were partially evacuated, and several local roads were closed.
"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 the Aude prefecture, told AFP.
Some 980 firemen backed by 14 airplanes were battling the flames, she said. "The night is going to be long."
The Aude department has seen an increase in the areas burnt in recent years, aggravated by low rainfall and the removal of vineyards, which used to help break the progression of fires.