Fires return to French Riviera
Big forest fires broke out again in drought-stricken southern France yesterday, destroying up to 1,000 hectares of woods and scrubland and forcing the precautionary evacuation of two all-but-empty campsites and a holiday centre, the police and fire service said.
The fires were reported at about 10am near the inland Riviera village of La Garde-Freinet, near the site of the two devastating July blazes which killed four people, including two Britons, and destroyed more than 18,000 hectares of pine and oak.
More than 1,000 firefighters and 90 appliances were still trying to control the outbreak last night, aided by 12 water-dumping planes and helicopters, including two Russian aircraft sent by Moscow at the height of the July crisis.
Reinforcements from neighbouring areas were expected to arrive during the night.
The local authorities closed roads and advised the few end-of-season holidaymakers still in the Gulf of St Tropez to take the coastal road home rather than venture inland.
July's fires, thought to have been started deliberately, were the worst in the region for decades.
The fires were reported at about 10am near the inland Riviera village of La Garde-Freinet, near the site of the two devastating July blazes which killed four people, including two Britons, and destroyed more than 18,000 hectares of pine and oak.
More than 1,000 firefighters and 90 appliances were still trying to control the outbreak last night, aided by 12 water-dumping planes and helicopters, including two Russian aircraft sent by Moscow at the height of the July crisis.
Reinforcements from neighbouring areas were expected to arrive during the night.
The local authorities closed roads and advised the few end-of-season holidaymakers still in the Gulf of St Tropez to take the coastal road home rather than venture inland.
July's fires, thought to have been started deliberately, were the worst in the region for decades.
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