by Marseille (Reuters) -A natural fire that reached the northwestern edge of the second city of Marseille of France, lost intensity at night, but firefighters still fought against the flames on Wednesday.
Residents who were told on Tuesday to stay in their homes for their own safety were re -admitted.
“With the fire in Noord -Marseille now clearly under control, we can announce this morning that the 16th district is no longer locked,” said Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan in a post on social media platform X.
“I call on all inhabitants of Marseille to practice the greatest caution in the area, because emergency services are working hard,” he said.
Martine Vassal, head of the Area Council, said that firefighters had worked the night to control the fire that she said remained a reason for concern.
“It is not yet finished. The weather conditions are worrying for us,” Vassal told Broadcaster BFM.
Local officials said that the airport could close for the second largest city in France for commercial flights to prioritize air sources when the fire flared up again.
It was too early for the hundreds of residents who had fled from the nature fire to return, said civil servants.
Hundreds of firefighters, helped by helicopters and planes, fight against the flames, which were fueled by wind of a maximum of 70 km / h (43 mph) that brought smoke over the southern coastal city. Officials said the fire was caused by a car that was on fire.
The fire was burned 700 hectares (2.7 square miles), but no fatalities were reported, said regional prefect Georges-Francois Leclerc late on Tuesday.
Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleeau told reporters late on Tuesday that the fire was fast moving, affected 60 houses and burned down 10.
The fire in Marseille and a separate near Narbonne, another South French city, were the first big fires of the summer, said Sophie Primas, the government spokesperson, in an interview with RTL on Wednesday, adding that a wildfire season had arrived at the beginning of this year.
In recent years, climate change has made forest fires more destructive in Mediterranean countries.
This week and last week, fires are also raging in northeastern Spain, on the Greek island of Crete and in Athens.
Philippe, a victim of the fires whose surname was not given, said BFM that he had slept badly after evacuating and hoped to return to his house at noon on Wednesday.
“There is nothing we can do,” he said. “It’s very bad, very difficult.”
(Reporting by Makini Brice, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marc Leras, Richard Lough and Diana Mandia Alvarez; Edit by Kate Mayberry and Tom Hogue)
