Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Firefighters are battling a 240-hectare wildfire near Marseille, France, with improved weather aiding efforts. Evacuations and home protections are underway.
MARTIGUES, France (Reuters) -Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters battled a wildfire about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of France's second-largest city Marseille on Friday, but officials said lower temperatures and increased humidity had improved the situation
The 240-hectare (593 acres) wildfire flared up a week after a separate conflagration reached the northwestern outskirts of Marseille, forcing people to evacuate or into lockdown and temporarily shuttering the area's airport.
Pierre Bepoix, the colonel of rescue operations and deputy director for the area's firefighters, said 150 people had been evacuated, but firefighters had managed to save 150 homes and portions of the area's forests.
"It was a fire that swept through relatively dense vegetation ... which made our work particularly complicated," Bepoix told Reuters. "Obviously, priority was given to the preservation and protection of these homes and the lives that could be in these buildings."
Local officials said in a statement that 120 homes had been threatened by the fire, adding that it was not possible yet to identify any possible damage to them, and that two firefighters had been injured.
Meanwhile in Spain, a wildfire that broke out on Thursday evening in the central Toledo province and could be seen from downtown Madrid, ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.
Regional emergency services said early on Friday firefighters had secured the perimeter, though there were concerns over strong winds and high temperatures forecast throughout the day.
(Reporting by Manon Cruz in Martigues and Makini Brice in Paris; additional reporting by David Latona in Madrid; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Nearly 1,000 firefighters and helicopters are engaged in battling the wildfire located about 40 kilometers northwest of Marseille.
The wildfire has burned approximately 240 hectares, which is equivalent to about 593 acres.
Local officials reported that 150 people were evacuated due to the wildfire, while firefighters managed to save 150 homes.
Firefighters are dealing with relatively dense vegetation, which complicates their efforts, along with concerns over strong winds and high temperatures.
The article also mentions a wildfire in Spain's Toledo province, which has ravaged 3,200 hectares of woodland.
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