Southeastern France wildfire burns 2,550 hectares, forces evacuations
A wildfire that tore through France’s southeastern Var department overnight burned 2,550 hectares (6,301 acres), before being brought under control, Qazinform News Agency learned from Anadolu.
According to the Var Departmental Fire and Rescue Service, the blaze is now contained and is no longer spreading significantly, although firefighters continue to tackle numerous hotspots, BFMTV reported.
The fire destroyed two homes in the commune of Ponteves, where about 10 houses had been evacuated.
Around 400 residents were evacuated from five municipalities, the Var prefecture said in its latest statement.
The wildfire also disrupted electricity supply, leaving approximately 2,300 households without power, mainly in the commune of Cotignac, as repair crews worked to restore service.
France’s Forest Weather Service has classified the wildfire risk as very high on Wednesday in the Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Gard departments. An additional 23 departments, including Var, remain under an orange alert for elevated wildfire danger.
Earlier, it was reported that Kazakhstan had recorded 536 forest fires since the start of the wildfire season.