A wildfire surge in the southern department of Aude, France, has burnt more than 17,000 hectares of land, resulting in one death, injuries to 13 others, and the destruction of dozens of homes. 

The prefect for the Aude Department, an administrative division in the Occitane region of Southern France, Christian Pouget, disclosed this while briefing the press on Thursday night.

Mr Pouget stated that around 2,000 residents displaced by the fire incident have remained unable to return to their homes, noting that many have been forced to sleep in school gyms and village halls.

“The fire will not be declared extinguished for several days. There is still a lot of work to be done,” Mr Pouget said.

According to media reports, nearly 2,000 fighters are still stationed at the scene of the blaze, despite a declaration by Aude’s authority that the incident is under control.

Public access to the affected forests has been barred due to fallen electricity lines and other potential hazards until Sunday.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Prime Minister of France, François Bayrou, during a visit to the affected region, described the wildfire as a catastrophe of unprecedented scale.

“What is happening today is linked to global warming and linked to drought,” Bayrou said.

France’s latest wildfire incident adds to the more than 8,000 cases that the country has had to battle.

In Canada, wildfires have forced occupants of Vancouver Island, located on the Pacific Coast, to relocate to Newfoundland in the North Atlantic. 

Canada’s emergency management minister, Eleanor Olszewski, announced in a social media post on Thursday that the country’s armed forces and the Coast Guard would join the ongoing rescue efforts to mitigate the impact of the flaming blaze and its disruptions.

Canada’s authorities reported that approximately 7.1 million hectares of forests have burned across the country’s diverse landscapes, spreading through populous provinces such as Ontario and Quebec.

A spokesperson for the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, Awa Cissé, stated that there have been no fewer than 725 active wildfires in Canada during the current season, expressing concerns that the fighting capability is being overwhelmed.

Ms Cissé stated, “Twenty-twenty-five seems to be the second-highest number of hectares burned after 2023. Domestic resources are maxed out. We’ve asked for help from our international partners.