OUPIA, France: A large wildfire raged in southern France on Wednesday, forcing scores of people to be evacuated, emergency services said.
Hundreds of firefighters mobilized to battle the blaze in the Herault and Aude departments, fueled by drought and strong winds.
It came a year after major blazes in the Corbieres region and days after a deadly heatwave across much of Europe, with another one forecast.
By late evening the fire had covered 800 hectares, according to the prefecture.
“The fire is contained at times,” a source in the prefecture told AFP around 11:00pm (2100 GMT), but “it is not under control.”
