French transport vehicles are stuck in traffic jams across the country after a massive fire in the countryside killed four people and injured scores more on Monday.AFP / AFP / AFP image French transport vehicle is stuck in the traffic jam in the French capital, Paris, France, April 13, 2020.
French transport vehicles were stuck in their lane for nearly an hour as a wildfire burned in the mountainous area of La Rochelle.
It caused a fire in a small plot of forest, the second major blaze to hit the French city in five months.
It was the third major fire in less than a week.
The blaze started in a patch of land that has been cleared of trees, forcing authorities to reopen the highway.
It forced drivers to divert on major highways to avoid a possible shutdown.AFP PhotoThe fire in La Rochelles forest in southern France killed four, according to a statement by the local fire department.
Four firefighters were injured in the blaze, said the statement.
“Two of them are in critical condition and two are in stable condition.
We are now awaiting the outcome of the investigations,” a statement from the fire department said.
It did not provide further details.
France is on high alert for major disasters.
In the past three weeks, at least three major wildfires have burned across the French south.
Three of them, in Les Défense and Pays-Saint-Etienne, were set ablaze by flames in the wilds of the mountainous region of La Pape.
The last blaze in the region happened on February 22.
It started in the forests of the mountains of the Pays Saint-Etchine region and spread rapidly across the landscape, causing extensive damage and forcing authorities in the neighbouring region to close roads.
It took nearly two weeks for the flames to be put out, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 people.AFP PHOTO/HANNAH MACDONALDMore to come.