Several wildfires scorched southern France on Thursday after weeks of dry weather and record-high temperatures during the recent heat wave.
According to local authorities, the largest fires spread in the Aude and Herault regions. Up to 800 firefighters and 150 vehicles were deployed to combat flames that spread over 900 hectares (2,200 acres).
In the Pyrenees-Orientales region, nearly 3,000 tourists and local residents were evacuated after a wildfire broke out in Sainte-Marie-la-Mer and spread to Canet-en-Roussillon, a town near the Spanish border.
Television images showed warehouses and a yacht engulfed in flames in Canet-en-Roussillon, and a thick cloud of dark smoke blew over the beach.
Pierre Regnault de La Mothe, the top regional official in the southern department of Pyrenees-Orientales, said two firefighters sustained minor injuries.
