More than 900 hectares of vegetation in France’s Pyrenees-Orientales region were destroyed on Sunday by a forest fire – the first major forest fire in France of the year. This is reported by the French news agency AFP on Sunday. Three hundred people have been evacuated as a precaution.
The fire broke out in the morning between the towns of Cerbère and Banyuls-sur-Mer – an area that has been suffering from severe drought for some time – and was fanned by strong winds. In the evening, the fire brigade reported that the fire had already destroyed 950 hectares of nature. Six aircraft and more than five hundred firefighters and rescue workers were deployed to fight the fire. The interior minister will visit the area on Monday.
The drought in the Pyrenees-Orientales, a consequence of global warming, has long been a point of discussion in France. Farmers in the region fear for their survival and four villages have been struggling with a shortage of (drinking) water since Friday. As a result, the rules for water use tightened in the region; for example, residents are no longer allowed to spray their lawn or fill swimming pools.