Wildfire loses intensity in southern France, firefighters continue battle

MARSEILLE (Reuters) -A wildfire that reached the northwestern outskirts of France's second city of Marseille lost intensity overnight, but firefighters were still battling the flames on Wednesday.

Residents who had been told on Tuesday to stay in their homes for their own safety were once again allowed out.

"With the fire in northern Marseille now clearly under control, we can announce this morning that the 16th arrondissement is no longer on lockdown," Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan said in a post on social media platform X.

"I call on all Marseille residents to exercise the utmost caution in the area, as emergency services are hard at work," he said.

Martine Vassal, head of the area council, said firefighters had worked through the night to control the fire, which she said remained a cause for concern.

"It is not finished. Weather conditions are worrying for us," Vassal told broadcaster BFM.

Local officials said the airport for France's second-largest city could close for commercial flights to prioritise air resources if the fire flared up again.

It was too soon for the hundreds of residents who had fled from the wildfire to return, officials said.

Hundreds of firefighters, aided by helicopters and aircraft, have been fighting the flames, which have been fanned by winds of up to 70 kph (43 mph) that brought plumes of smoke over the southern coastal city. Officials said the blaze was caused by a car that caught on fire.

The fire had burnt through 700 hectares (2.7 square miles) but no fatalities had been reported, regional prefect Georges-Francois Leclerc said late on Tuesday.

Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told reporters late on Tuesday that the fire had been fast-moving, affecting 60 houses and burning down 10.

The fire in Marseille and a separate one near Narbonne, another southern French city, were the first major fires of the summer, Sophie Primas, the government's spokesperson, said in an interview with RTL on Wednesday, adding that wildfire season had come early this year.

Climate change has made wildfires more destructive in Mediterranean countries in recent years.

This week and last week, fires have also raged in northeastern Spain, on the Greek island of Crete, and in Athens.

Philippe, a victim of the fires whose surname was not given, told BFM that he had slept poorly after evacuating and hoped to return to his home at noon on Wednesday.

"There is nothing we can do," he said. "It is very very, very hard."

(Reporting by Makini Brice, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marc Leras, Richard Lough and Diana Mandia Alvarez; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Tom Hogue)