MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Flights to and from Marseille were suspended Tuesday and traffic at the city's main train station was disrupted due to a wildfire threatening the southern French port city, local authorities said.
The prefecture urged people in the affected areas to stay indoors and off the roads. With the fire approaching Marseille, the prefecture also advised residents in the north of the city to keep windows closed to prevent toxic smoke from entering their homes.
Live TV footage showed light smoke giving the sky over Marseille’s old port a dusty aspect as water-dropping planes tried to extinguish the fire in the outskirts of the city, which has some 900,000 inhabitants.
More than 700 firefighters were deployed to tackle the fire, which broke out near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, with 350 hectares (865 acres) hit.
There have been no reports of casualties.
Marseille airport announced that the runway had been closed at around midday. Sections of two major motorways also were closed to traffic.
French railway operator SNCF said the circulation of trains between Marseille and the Miramas-Aix high-speed TGV train station was stopped due to a fire nearing the tracks in L'Estaque, a picturesque neighborhood of Marseille.
As a safety measure, the city's Hospital Nord switched to generators “due to micro power cuts.”
"The aim is to secure the imaging sector. We are not worried as we have a high level of autonomy,” the University Hospitals of Marseille said, adding that because of the disrupted traffic it asked workers to remain at their posts until the next teams starts its shift.
Several weeks of heat waves combined with strong winds have increased the risk of wildfires in southern France, with several breaking out over the past couple of days.
The Associated Press
