1 dead, 13 injured in France’s biggest wildfire since 1949
The blaze, about 100km (60 miles) from the border with Spain, has scorched through France since Tuesday and is still not under control
France’s biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades has killed a woman who officials said had disregarded evacuation orders and destroyed dozens of houses, forcing about 2,000 residents and holidaymakers to flee.
Plumes of smoke rose over the forest area in the Aude region. Drone footage showed swathes of charred earth after the fire swept across an area one-and-a-half times the size of Paris.
“We don’t have water, internet and electricity anymore. We have nothing. It’s the apocalypse,” said resident and farmer Alain Reneau, who lives in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a village hit hard by the fire.
“We saved the house, but we had to fight the whole night, for two days.”
The blaze, not far from the border with Spain and the Mediterranean Sea, has spread unusually rapidly, fanned by strong winds and very dry vegetation, following months of drought in the area.