A wildfire in southwest France that burned 16,000 hectares last week – the country’s worst in at least 50 years – is under control but will not be fully extinguished for several weeks. Investigators say it may have been started deliberately.
Montpellier prosecutor's office said in a statement that, given the circumstances surrounding the outbreak of the fire, it may have been caused intentionally.
The statement, released on Wednesday, added that this must be confirmed “by numerous additional investigations” without specifying how long they could take.
The blaze swept through the hills of the Corbières mountain range in the Aude department in just 48 hours. It took five days to bring under control.
One woman was killed, two other people were injured, and about 2,000 people were evacuated from 16 villages directly affected. The fire destroyed 36 houses, 21 farm buildings and burned 17,000 hectares, 2,200 of them crops, including large numbers of vineyards.
During a visit to the Aude department on Thursday, the Minister of Agriculture Annie Genevard announced the release of an emergency fund of €8 million.
This "will be used to compensate for crop losses, financial losses (...) and the destruction of buildings and agricultural equipment," she said.
An investigation was launched on 6 August, the day after the fire started on 5 August at 4.15pm along a departmental road in the town of Ribaute, halfway between Narbonne and Carcassonne.
Firefighters arrived within minutes, but high heat, dry air and strong winds made it impossible to stop the fire immediately.
Some 2,000 firefighters fought to contain the blaze by 10 August. Colonel Christophe Magny, head of the Aude fire and rescue service, said the rugged terrain of the Corbières means it will not be extinguished “for several weeks”.
Hundreds of firefighters remain on site to monitor flare-ups – some using drones – and carry out clean-up operations.
Before this fire, by the end of July and midway through the summer season, France had recorded 15,000 hectares burned in 9,000 fires, mainly along the Mediterranean coast.
