Firefighters battle fast-moving wildfires in southern France

Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires across southern France on Sunday as a dangerous combination of extreme heat and strong winds raised the threat of new fires in the region.

A new blaze erupted overnight in a remote, hard-to-reach area of the Pyrenees-Orientales mountains, scorching 930 hectares and prompting the deployment of more than 580 firefighters, local authorities said in a social media statement.

Officials urged mayors in affected municipalities to bring residents from isolated farmsteads into town halls for safety. Several roads were closed in the region.

Meteo-France has warned of a heat wave combined with “sometimes strong winds” across Mediterranean regions, creating “high to very high” forest fire risk.

The weather service placed seven departments on “very high risk” for Sunday: Aude, Drome, Gard, Herault, Pyrenees-Orientales, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhone.

Extreme heat was forecast to spread across the Southwest in the afternoon, with highs of 35-37°C (95-99°F) and peaks of 38-40°C (100-104°F) in several southern regions, broadcaster BFMTV reported.