Major Fires Sweep Through Southern France

A massive fire broke out, consuming about a thousand hectares of vegetation in southern France on Monday, leading to the closure of a highway connecting France to Spain and forcing residents of a village near the fire site to evacuate.

Despite the rapid intervention of around 600 firefighters and ten aircraft, including four specialized 'Canadair' planes for firefighting, the fire continued to spread towards the towns of Narbonne, Bage, and Peyriac de Mer, as stated by Emilie Trio, the official in the 'Aude' department.

A photographer from the 'Agence France-Presse' reported that flames were rising tens of meters high, while a thick cloud of black smoke rose from the pine forests engulfed by the fire, despite the intervention of water-carrying aircraft.

Strong winds and the intense heatwave are contributing to the rapid spread of the fire through the dry vegetation.

The 'Aude' department was placed on high alert on Monday, along with the 'Var' and 'Bouches-du-Rhone' departments in the south.

The fire broke out, under circumstances that are still unknown, at around 3:00 pm (13:00 GMT) in a winery located within the 'Corbieres' mountain range.