A devastating wildfire has wreaked havoc in the southern Aude region of France, killing an elderly woman and consuming over 16,000 hectares of land. That fire—which started Tuesday afternoon outside of Ribaute—became the country’s largest wildfire of the year so far. This dangerous incident has rightfully catalyzed national outcry over its effects on climate change and public safety.
That fire has charred a perimeter of 90 kilometers (60 miles) and has already incinerated at least 25 homes. Further, approximately thirty vehicles have been consumed by the blaze. According to authorities, 2,500 residences are without power since the approximate path of destruction of the fire continues to grow.
French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou characterized the situation as “a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions,” underscoring the severity of the incident. The Ministry of Ecological Transition echoed this sentiment, stating that the fire “illustrates the scale of the consequences of climate change.”
During the course of the fire, two civilians were injured and seven firefighters were injured. The head of the Aude region fire brigade, Christophe Magny, attributed the rapid spread of the flames to extreme weather conditions, including low humidity levels at 25%, winds exceeding 30 km/h, and high temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius.
Almost 2,000 firefighters are served on the front lines today, actively fighting the blaze. From their fleet, they receive an essential complement of four Canadair water bombers, a heavy-lift helicopter with a four-tonne water capacity and four DASH aircraft. Fire authorities were seeing a truly miraculous slowing in the fire’s progression, one that firefighters had prayed for in their darkest days.
“The fire is progressing much more slowly than yesterday, and all the firefighters are actively engaged in trying to contain it,” stated Christian Pouget from the firefighting services.
The impact of this wildfire has been immensely tragic for our people. Renate Koot described her family’s harrowing escape: “One moment we were on the phone with our children … thinking, ‘Look, a fire!’. The next, we had to jump in the car and leave, while praying for protection. We didn’t bring anything to personally leave behind and just walked out.
Unfortunately so far, local jurisdictions are left to sort through the wreckage. Remi Recio lamented the death of an octogenarian from the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, who allegedly had refused to leave her house for evacuation.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service recently reported that Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing at twice the rate of the global average since the 1980s. Commentators such as Serge Zaka have predicted that climate change would put summers at risk of more frequent and intense wildfires. This impending threat will reach far into fall and into spring along much of the coast of France.
