Wildfire Near Marseille Suspends Flights, Prompts Stay-at-Home Orders
The prefecture urged people in the affected areas to stay indoors and off the roads. With the fire approaching Marseille, the prefecture also advised residents in the northern area of the city to remain inside with doors and windows closed to prevent toxic smoke from entering their homes. Live TV footage showed light smoke giving the sky over Marseille's old port a dusty aspect. Some 168 firefighters, two helicopters, and 68 engines were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, with 350 hectares (865 acres) affected. There have been no reports of casualties. Marseille airport announced that the runway had been closed at around midday.
Several weeks of heat waves combined with strong winds have increased the risk of wildfires in southern France, with several breaking out over the past couple of days.
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Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
France wildfire shuts down Marseille airport, halts trains
MARSEILLE: A wildfire in southern France on Tuesday forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic as the blaze spread rapidly to the edges of the city. Several forest fires have raged in recent days in southern France, fanning out at speed due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave. Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of extreme heat that fuels forest fires. The fire started in a vehicle in the area of Pennes-Mirabeau to the north of Marseille, on the road to the airport, roaring across 700 hectares (1,700 acres) by the evening, firefighters said. It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday (1000 GMT), a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said. The spokesman later said that the airport would partially reopen at around 9:30 p.m. and that 54 flights had been canceled and another 14 redirected. The website of the SNCF national rail operator showed more than a dozen train trips had been canceled in and out of the city. It said rail travel to and from Marseille would remain 'highly affected' on Wednesday. Marseille mayor Benoit Payan on X warned residents 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. The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau said two housing estates had been evacuated and firefighters had positioned themselves outside a retirement home to fight off approaching flames. The Marseille Provence airport is the country's fourth after Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly outside Paris, and Nice. The fire near Marseille is just the latest to hit France in recent days. To the west along the Mediterranean coast, near the city of Narbonne, more than 1,000 firefighters from around the country were seeking to contain another blaze. It had crept across 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) of trees since starting on the property of a winery on Monday afternoon, emergency services said. In the village of Prat-de-Cest on Tuesday morning, trees were blackened or still on fire. As she watched fire trucks drive to and fro, retiree Martine Bou recounted fleeing her home with her cats, tortoises and dog on Monday afternoon before returning. But her husband, Frederic, stayed all night to hose down the great pines on the other side of the road so the fire would not engulf their home. 'I've never seen anything like it. I have never lived next to such an enormous fire,' he told AFP, reporting flames dozens of meters (more than a hundred feet) high. The fire near Narbonne caused authorities to close the A9 motorway to Spain, but on Tuesday morning they said they were progressively reopening it to traffic.
Al Arabiya
12 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Wildfire Near Marseille Suspends Flights, Prompts Stay-at-Home Orders
Flights scheduled at Marseille Airport were suspended due to a wildfire raging close to the southern French port city, local authorities said Tuesday. The prefecture urged people in the affected areas to stay indoors and off the roads. With the fire approaching Marseille, the prefecture also advised residents in the northern area of the city to remain inside with doors and windows closed to prevent toxic smoke from entering their homes. Live TV footage showed light smoke giving the sky over Marseille's old port a dusty aspect. Some 168 firefighters, two helicopters, and 68 engines were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, with 350 hectares (865 acres) affected. There have been no reports of casualties. Marseille airport announced that the runway had been closed at around midday. Several weeks of heat waves combined with strong winds have increased the risk of wildfires in southern France, with several breaking out over the past couple of days.
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Storms and fires hit Balkan countries following a period of extreme summer heat
A severe hail storm ripped trees and roofs in Croatia on Tuesday, while hundreds of fires raged in neighboring Serbia following a period of extremely hot weather in parts of the Balkan region. A brief but powerful storm hit Croatia's Adriatic Sea port of Split on Tuesday morning. High winds and hail damaged the roof of the city's soccer stadium and caused a ferry to slip its moorings at the port, which then hit two other vessels, one of which sank. At least three people were injured in the storm, and material damage across the city was huge. Photos carried by Croatian media showed downed trees and flooded streets. The Index news portal said that offices and the pitch itself at Split's Poljud stadium were damaged, as well as the roof. The report quoted the Split meteorological service as saying that such storms are usual after a long period of heat with extremely hot days. Previously, Croatia and the rest of the Balkans experienced a heat wave with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and more. Meteorologists said the storms prefigured cooler days ahead, with temperatures set to drop to around 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas. The weather service in neighboring Slovenia said on Tuesday that snow fell at high altitudes in the Alps, while the rest of the country has been pounded with heavy rain and hail. In Serbia, firefighters battled more than 600 wildfires on Monday that injured six people. Serbia has been hit by a severe drought this summer that has endangered crops and led to restrictions in supplies of drinking water throughout the country. Serbian police, late on Monday, urged residents to be very cautious, as dry and hot weather increases chances of wildfires. At least three municipalities in southern parts of the country declared emergency measures due to the fires. 'Many villages were jeopardized. We have a number of burnt and damaged properties, but we have managed to save many, too,' senior emergency official Nedeljko Gagic told state-run RTS television. Serbia's meteorological institute has also warned of low water levels on the two biggest rivers in the country – the Danube and the Sava – as well as smaller ones. Experts say that extreme weather conditions can be linked to climate change. Extremely hot weather and wildfires were reported throughout Europe in early July.
