At least one person is dead and thousands have been forced to flee a forest fire in the area surrounding the up-market Mediterranean resort of Saint-Tropez. Hundreds of firemen continue to fight France's worst wildfire of the summer.
"The coming hours will be absolutely decisive" for the firefighting effort, President Emmanuel Macron said during a visit to the stricken area on Tuesday evening.
The French leader added that "the battle is ongoing and the fire has not yet been contained," saying that the courage of fire service personnel had helped to "avoid the worst". The president spoke before the first death was confirmed.
Local authorities later said one person had died, the first confirmed fatality from this wildfire, a man of around 50 years of age, whose body was found at his home in Grimaud. The exact cause of death is unknown but it is so far being linked to the fires.
A 32 year-old woman has also been reported missing. According to Patrice Camberou, the Draguignon state attorney, Virgine Spiwack called her family on Tuesday saying she was surrounded by flames while staying at a lodge in the Val de Gilly and has not been seen since.
Twenty-two people have been injured, including 19 who inhaled toxic fumes. Five members of the fire brigade have also been slightly injured.
'Fire not spreading, not under control'
The fire "had not spread" during the night but "that does not mean it is under control," said the fire service spokesman for the Var region, Franck Graciano.
Le colonel Eric Grohin, directeur départemental du service départemental d’incendie et de secours fait le point sur l'évolution de l'incendie de Gonfaron qui n'est toujours pas fixé et qui a déjà parcouru 5.500 hectares et brulé 3.500 hectares (Vidéo Véronique Georges) pic.twitter.com/nFBJOKlYKw
— Var-matin (@Var_Matin) August 17, 2021
Some 1,200 firefighters have been deployed, supported by water-bombing planes and helicopters.
High temperatures and strong winds forced local authorities to evacuate around 7,000 people from homes and campsites, the Var police headquarters said on Tuesday, many to the safety of municipal buildings and schools.
Among them were 1,300 people staying at a campsite in the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas, along the coast from Saint-Tropez.
Blaze driven by high winds
The fire is believed to have started near a motorway stop some 30 kilometres northwest of Saint-Tropez.
The blaze, which spread rapidly because of high winds, has damaged some 5,000 hectares in a region known for its forests, vineyards and wildlife.
Authorities say the cost to the environment will be enormous.
"Half of the Plain des Maures nature reserve has been devastated," Concha Agero, deputy director of the French Office of Biodiversity, said on Tuesday.
Major blazes have already ravaged parts of Turkey, Bulgaria, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Israel, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco this year.
The Mediterranean basin has long faced seasonal wildfires linked to its dry and hot weather in the summer, but climate scientists warn that such disasters will become increasingly common because of global warming.
