A blaze in southern France forced the closure of the Marseille airport, and weather agencies issued warnings for other parts of Europe where temperatures were expected to climb this week.
Wildfires were raging in Spain and France on Tuesday, prompting the closure of an international airport, after a dayslong heat wave parched landscapes in the region and turned woodlands into tinderboxes.
At least five people and five firefighters were injured in southern France, where a blaze near the city of Narbonne was burning for a second day, according to the local authorities. Officials said in a statement that the wildfire had already scorched nearly 5,000 acres of land, and that more than 1,000 firefighters were working to bring it under control.
Over 150 miles away, just north of Marseille, a separate blaze started by a car fire and fueled by powerful, erratic winds tore through 1,700 acres of dry vegetation. The wildfire forced a nearby airport to halt all takeoffs and landings, disrupted local train and road traffic and cast thick clouds of acrid smoke over the city.
Local authorities said that over 700 firefighters had managed to stop the flames at the city’s northern limits, with limited destruction and no deaths so far. Georges-François Leclerc, the local state representative, urged the population to remain calm, hunker down at home to avoid toxic fumes and keep roads clear for firefighters.
“The situation is not set in stone, it has not stabilized, but it is under control,” he told reporters.
The French weather agency also warned that there was a high risk of forest fires elsewhere in the country, given the windy conditions.
Sources: University of Maine Climate Change Institute and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Global Forecast System
Note: Forecasts are for 8 p.m. Eastern on July 7, 2025, to 8 p.m. on July 8, 2025.
By Lazaro Gamio and Zach Levitt
