PARIS (AP) — About 1,400 firefighters were deployed Saturday in France's southern Aude region to prevent the country's largest wildfire in decades from reigniting, as all residents were allowed to return to their homes.
Aude prefect Christian Pouget said the fire has been contained since Thursday after burning this week more than 160 square kilometers (62 square miles) in the wooded region, known for its wineries. All roads have been reopened but authorities issued a strict ban on accessing the forest, Pouget said at a news conference on Saturday.
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A camper prepares to leave the L'Espazo municipal campsite after France's largest wildfire in decades in Durban-Corbieres, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A forestry worker operates during France's largest wildfire in decades in Fontjoncouse, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Burned grapevines are pictured after firefighters contained France's largest wildfire in decades in Saint Laurent de La Cabrerisse, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Burned trees are pictured during one of the largest wildfire in decades in Fontjoncouse, southern France, Friday, Aug.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
“The fight is continuing, firefighters are still working on (fire) reignition,” he said.
The blaze left one person dead and 25 people have been injured, including 19 firefighters, Pouget said.
High temperatures in the coming days are expected to complicate firefighters' efforts.
“The fire won’t be extinguished for several weeks,” Col. Christophe Magny, director of the Aude fire department, said, pointing to several “hot spots” that are being closely monitored.
France’s national weather agency Meteo France placed the southern half of France on a “high vigilance” alert for heat wave, with temperatures expected in the Aude region of up to 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday.
In neighboring Spain, firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in Avila province, over 100 km (62 miles) west of Madrid. Víctor Fernández, a technician at the advanced command post, told reporters Saturday the fire was being contained but warned the next hours would be “critical." Extreme temperatures are expected to continue until at least next week, according to Spain’s national weather service.
The fire began on Friday afternoon with the Spanish Military Emergencies Unit working through the night to bring it under control and prevent it from approaching roads and train lines.
Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.
A camper prepares to leave the L'Espazo municipal campsite after France's largest wildfire in decades in Durban-Corbieres, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A forestry worker operates during France's largest wildfire in decades in Fontjoncouse, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Burned grapevines are pictured after firefighters contained France's largest wildfire in decades in Saint Laurent de La Cabrerisse, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Burned trees are pictured during one of the largest wildfire in decades in Fontjoncouse, southern France, Friday, Aug.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
LONDON (AP) — Britain's Conservative Party, which governed the country from 2010 until it suffered its worst-ever electoral defeat two years ago, was plunged into fresh turmoil Thursday after its leader sacked the man widely seen as her greatest rival for apparently plotting to defect from the party.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a video and statement on X that she sacked the party's justice spokesperson Robert Jenrick due to “irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" in a way that was “designed to be as damaging as possible” to the party. Badenoch also ejected Jenrick from the party's ranks in Parliament and suspended his party membership.
“The British public are tired of political psychodrama and so am I,” she said. “They saw too much of it in the last government, they’re seeing too much of it in this government. I will not repeat those mistakes.”
Though Badenoch did not specify which party Jenrick was planning to switch to, Nigel Farage, leader of the hard-right Reform UK party, said he had “of course” had conversations with him.
In the past 12 months, the Conservatives have suffered a string of defections to Reform UK, including some former Cabinet ministers.
Farage said in a press briefing in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, that coincided with Badenoch's statement that, “hand on heart,” he wasn't about to present Jenrick as the latest Conservative to defect to Reform, an upstart, anti-immigration party.
“I’ll give him a ring this afternoon,” he said. “I might even buy him a pint, you never know.”
The Conservatives are fighting not just the Labour government to their left, but Reform UK to the right.
Reform, which only has a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons, is tipped to make a major breakthrough in an array of elections this May, including those to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour.
Jenrick, who continued to attract speculation about leadership ambitions despite being beaten in 2024, has appeared more open than Badenoch to the prospect of some sort of deal between the Conservatives and Reform to unite the right in the run-up to next general election, which has to take place by 2029.
Jenrick has yet to respond to the news of his sacking.
Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose favorability ratings have fallen sharply since the general election following a series of missteps, questioned why it took Badenoch “so long” to sack Jenrick given all the speculation that he was looking to either challenge her or to defect to Reform.
Badenoch, a small-state, low-tax advocate, has shifted the Conservatives to the right, announcing policies similar to those of U.S. President Donald Trump, including a promise to deport 150,000 unauthorized immigrants a year.
Her poor poll ratings and lackluster performance in Parliament had stirred speculation that she could be ousted long before the next election.
However, she has been making a better impression in Parliament in recent weeks, particularly during her weekly questioning of Starmer, in a way that appears to have cemented her position as leader.
The party is no stranger to turmoil, having gone through six leaders in the space of 10 years, five of them serving as prime minister. Widespread anger at the way the Conservatives were governing Britain led to their defeat at the general election in July 2024, when they lost around two-thirds of their lawmakers, their worst performance since the modern party was created nearly 200 years ago.
Robert Jenrick speaking at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Robert Jenrick with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at a Reform UK press conference in Westminster, London, where it was announced the former Conservative MP has joined Reform UK, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Reform Party leader Nigel Farage addresses protesters outside the Iranian embassy, in London, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
Kemi Badenoch with Robert Jenrick before being announced as the new Conservative Party leader following the vote by party members at 8 Northumberland Avenue in central London, Nov. 3, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
