Firefighters in southern France are continuing to fight a massive wildfire for the third straight day, in what authorities say is the largest fire the country has experienced since 1949. The blaze, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon near the village of Ribaut—between the towns of Carcassonne and Narbonne—has already scorched more than 16,000 hectares (approximately 40,000 acres) of land.
The flames have claimed the life of one woman and left at least thirteen others injured, including eleven firefighters and two residents. One of the civilians is currently hospitalized with severe burns. The victim, a 65-year-old woman from the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, was found dead in her burned home after reportedly refusing to evacuate.
Television footage has shown dense clouds of smoke rising above the forested areas of the Aude region in southern France. Colonel Christophe Mani, a senior officer leading the firefighting operations, told BFM TV that the fire is still not under control.
Fueled initially by winds pushing it toward the Mediterranean coast and the Spanish border, the fire has now shifted direction. On Wednesday, the wind changed course and began driving the flames back toward the Corbières mountain range, an area already affected by the fire and home to approximately 15 villages.
“The back of the fire has become its front,” said Colonel Mani, adding that the fire is now returning to the area where it first started—dense forest zones that are difficult to access.
Officials have confirmed that the fire has burned an area larger than the entire city of Paris. Emergency services remain on high alert as efforts to contain the blaze continue under challenging conditions.
