San Francisco Frontiers - French firefighters optimistic after controlling vast wildfire

The fire near the Mediterranean coast ravaged a vast area of the Aude department at the peak of the summer tourist season, killing one person and wounding several others.

Experts say European countries are becoming ever more vulnerable to such disasters due to intensifying summer heatwaves linked to global warming.

Firefighters announced that the Aude blaze was brought under control on Thursday, though it would still take several days before it is completely extinguished.

"The weather is changing in our favour," Remi Recio, a senior regional official who is the sub-prefect for the southern city of Narbonne, told reporters, pointing to "a weakening of the wind" and rising humidity.

"The light drizzle this morning is also welcome," he said in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, the town hit worst by the fire.

However the low cloud cover that helps the firefighters on the ground makes aerial operations to fight the fire more complicated.

Meanwhile, the weather forecast was set to be less favourable going into the weekend, with the region placed on alert for a heatwave and the wind also expected to pick up.

"The firefighters will do their utmost before the return of the tramontane" this weekend, the president of the Aude departmental council, Helene Sandragne, told AFP, referring to a northerly wind that regularly blows through the area.

"It's a relief that the fire is under control, but it's still essential to show complete vigilance," she said.

- 'Complete despair' -

The fire, the largest for at least 50 years, swept through 17,000 hectares (4,200 acres) of vegetation in just over 48 hours.

Local authorities have said that around 2,000 people evacuated are still unable to return home. Almost 2,000 firefighters are mobilised to fight the fire.

In Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, a 65-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday in her home, which was devastated by flames.

The authorities said 18 people were injured: two residents who were hospitalised, one of whom suffered serious burns, as well as 16 firefighters.

As well as the damage to forests, local authorities estimate that "800 to 900 hectares" of vineyards have been lost.

"If we don't get help, we won't recover. We're losing a lot. It's complete despair," Fabien Vergnes, 52, told AFP on his 20-hectare property in Tournissan outside Saint-Laurent.

"It outrages me, this vineyard, all these years of work, went up in smoke in an hour," he said.

Regional prosectors have said investigations are underway into the origin of the fire.

With Europe facing new August heatwaves, many areas are on alert for wildfires. Portugal on Thursday extended emergency measures because of the heightened risk of fires.

Near the Spanish town of Tarifa, fire crews secured areas near hotels and other tourist accommodations after controlling a major blaze that destroyed hundreds of hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people.

The blaze, which broke out Tuesday in a wooded area near a beach outside Tarifa, a well-known hub for windsurfers, has now been brought under control, officials said.

M.Powell--SFF