Great fires in France: One victim and 13 injured, residents and tourists leave the area

Officials called the scenes <x0fer” after the flames broke out in Ribaute in the Aude region, near the border with Spain, according to Sky News.

The victim died in his home in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrisse, about 20 miles north of Perpignan, officials said.

Thirteen people have been injured, including 11 firefighters since the fire began on Tuesday, authorities added.

A person who was initially thought to be missing was found and is safe and sound.

The French Interior Ministry said the fire remains the very active “” and has already burned 13,000 hectares of a greater area than Paris.

At least 25 houses have been burned and many roads closed.

The flame is spreading rapidly through forests and villages, forcing residents and tourists to leave.

About 2,000 firefighters and several planes are working to extinguish the flames.

Hot, dry, and wind conditions have made fire control difficult for firefighters, officials added.

Jacques Pirux, mayor of the village of Yonquires, told BFM TV broadcaster: “is a scene of sadness and destruction. It looks like a lunar landscape, everything's burned. More than half or three quarters of the village have been burned. It's terrible.

Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world, with temperatures rising at twice the speed of the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union's Climate Change Service Copernicus.

Scientists warn that climate change is worsening the frequency and intensity of heat and drought, making the region more vulnerable to forest fires./Periscopi/