LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
Fire in Aude: this card shows the most important fire extent in France for 20 years
Fire – realize the excess. The Aude fire, which has already killed and nine injured, has been extending at a crazy speed since its departure on Tuesday, shortly after 4 p.m. This is to the point of having become in less than 24 hours the biggest fire in France for at least 20 years, according to the database on forest fires (BDIFF) this Wednesday, August 6.
Indeed, 13,000 hectares have already burned by the combination of several factors: drought, wind and type of terrain, composed of brush and pine -pedes, perfect fuel.
A map offered by Google Maps makes it possible to realize its magnitude, in an area located southwest of Narbonne and northwest of Leucate, As you can see below.
A device “ colossal »For a fire in the size of Paris
The boss of the Aude firefighters, Colonel Christophe Magny, questioned on Franceinfo, spoke “80 kilometers of edge”. “This corresponds to the town of Paris, that is to say the extent of this fire”he said. The capital has an exact area of 10,540 hectares.
The Parisian Also offers a card to better view the area, superimposed on a map of Île-de-France. Le Figaro has also established an interactive map of the latest fires identified in this area specifies in recent 48 hours.
To fight against flames, a device « colossal » 1,820 firefighters, supported by 500 ground machines, was mobilized, announced the prefecture. “We had reinforcements from the Southeast, West and Center of France which during the night, came to rely importantly”said Christophe Magny.
« The fire head has stopped progressing ”
“Fire is still not under control. The good news is that the fiery head has stopped progressing ”, announced on TF1 Julien Marion, Managing Director of Civil Security. “On the other hand, the edges that extend over 80 km are always very active”he said.
Prime Minister François Bayrou planned to go there in the afternoon as well as François-Noël Buffet, Minister to the Minister of the Interior, “As soon as possible without disrupting the action of mobilized help”according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Overlooking the fire front, in Fontjoncouse, an AFP photographer was able to see the fire progress very quickly, while high flames fueled by the wind gnawed at the crests of the hilly landscape of the Corbières massif, where many other homes continue to burn the pine forest and the vegetation.
