A wildfire that had reached the northwestern outskirts of France's second city of Marseille lost intensity overnight on Wednesday, but the airport remained closed as firefighters continued to battle the flames.
Tuesday's fire started in a vehicle in the area of Pennes-Mirabeau to the north of Marseille, on the road to its airport, roaring across 350 hectares by the afternoon, firefighters said.
It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday and cancel at least 10 flights, a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said.
The air hub's website showed departures – including to Brussels, Munich and Naples – had been called off.
The fire had burnt through 700 hectares but no fatalities had been reported. It decreased in intensity overnight but has not stabilised, the city's prefecture said on Wednesday morning.
Rail travel in Marseille was also affected. More than a dozen trains in and out of the city were cancelled on Tuesday, according to the SNCF national rail operator's website. Traffic was expected to return to normal on Wednesday.
Marseille mayor Benoit Payan had on Tuesday warned residents that the fire was now "at the doors of Marseille", urging inhabitants in the north of the city to refrain from taking to the roads to leave way for rescue services.
Payan announced on Wednesday morning that that part of town was "no longer under lockdown" and residents were allowed out, while calling on them to "exercise the utmost caution in the area, as emergency services are hard at work".
The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau, where the fire began, said two housing estates had been evacuated. It was too soon for the hundreds of residents who had fled from the wildfire to return, officials said.
Wildfires in southern France mark start of season spurred by high temperatures
More destructive wildfires
The fire near Marseille is just the latest to have hit southern France in recent days, fanning out at speed due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave.
To the west along the Mediterranean coast, near the city of Narbonne, more than 1,000 firefighters from around the country battled to contain another blaze that had crept across 2,000 hectares of trees. It started on the property of a winery on Monday afternoon, they said.
The fire near Narbonne caused authorities to temporarily close the A9 autoroute to Spain.
Climate change has made wildfires more destructive in Mediterranean countries in recent years.
Over the last 10 days, fires have raged in northeastern Spain, on the Greek island of Crete and in Athens.
(with newswires)
