Large forest fire breaks out in southwestern France - video
A large forest fire has broken out in the Eastern Pyrenees department in southwestern France and has already engulfed 1,500 hectares.
This was reported by the prefect of the department, Pierre Reno.
"The length of the fire strip is 18 km; significant resources on the ground and in the air are being used to extinguish it," he said at a press conference.
According to the prefect, the fire spread very quickly in the area of the commune of Trivellash; overnight on Sunday alone, the fire engulfed over 900 hectares. To extinguish it, 700 employees of the fire and rescue service, as well as 200 vehicles and 9 airplanes and helicopters, have been deployed.
So far, it has not been possible to contain the spread of the fire due to strong winds and the inaccessibility of the area affected by the fire.
The prefect warned that by the end of the day, authorities may decide to cancel a stage of the multi-day cycling race "Tour de France."
Source: TASS
