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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/08/marseille-airport-cancels-all-flights-as-wildfire-encroaches-on-city>
"A fast-moving wildfire on the outskirts of France’s second-largest city,
Marseille, has destroyed homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate, as a
heatwave and dangerous fire conditions grip the Mediterranean.
Interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the fire around Marseille could be
contained overnight if the gale-force winds fanning the flames weaken, as
expected. So far, 400 people had been evacuated, around a dozen houses
destroyed and 63 others damaged, he said. He added about 100 people had also
suffered light injuries, including from emergency services.
“At the moment that I speak to you there are no deaths, which is remarkable
given the extent of the fires,” he said on Tuesday evening as he visited
firefighters in the region. “But there are all the reasons to think we are
headed towards a summer of high risk.”
Local media reported that the cause appeared to have been a vehicle that caught
fire on the A552 motorway. The climate crisis is creating conditions that allow
such fires to burn faster, more intensely and over larger areas.
The fire has brought many of the city’s services to a halt. Marseille airport
cancelled all flights, train services to and from the north and north-west of
the city were suspended, two motorways, main roads and several road tunnels in
the city were closed, and many bus services cancelled, authorities said.
Departures to Brussels, Munich and Naples were cancelled, with incoming flights
diverted to nearby airports, including Nice and Nimes. Marseille is France’s
second largest regional airport, handling nearly 11 million passengers last
year.
Earlier, the regional prefect, Georges-François Leclerc told reporters that the
blaze was not yet contained but the situation appeared to be “under control”.
“The instructions are simple: have confidence in firefighters, let emergency
services do their job, and stay indoors,” he said. “Firefighters are defending
the city.”
Fanned by winds reaching 100km/h, the fire filled downtown Marseille with acrid
smoke and flying cinders. Videos from the central Old Port area showed large
plumes of smoke billowing over the city.
It urged residents closest to the blaze, especially in the northern 15th and
16th arrondissements, to “stay inside so as to avoid any exposure to smoke”
from the fire. Four sports halls in the city were opened to accommodate any
more evacuees.
“You can feel it, you can see it and you can smell it,” Vanessa, a 16th
arrondissement resident, told BFMTV. “It’s horrific. We’re all frightened. It’s
a catastrophe, you can’t even put your nose outside the front door – in
Marseille!”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
