ISTANBUL

At least one person has died and 13 others have been injured as the southern French department of Aude continues to battle the “biggest fire of the summer” on Thursday, with more than 16,000 hectares (39,000 acres) of vegetation destroyed.

The Aude prefecture announced Wednesday evening that the blaze consumed over 16,000 hectares in 24 hours and remains out of control after igniting on Tuesday.

Nearly 2,100 firefighters have been deployed to contain the flames across 15 municipalities.

Authorities confirmed one person has died and 13 others have been injured, including two in critical condition. Three individuals remain missing.

Christian Pouget, the prefect of Aude, said the fire is “not yet contained” but “no longer progressing.”

However, he warned that the situation remains volatile. “The battle is not over yet. The fire could flare up again in a bigger way,” he said.

Resources have been sent from across the country to support the operation.

Pouget noted that approximately 900 hectares of vineyards and agricultural land have been affected.

Authorities reported that nearly 2,000 residents are still unable to return to their homes.

A medical-psychological emergency unit has been set up at the Arena in Narbonne to support victims traumatized by the fire, with 15 professionals providing care, La Depeche reported.

“We hope the fire will be fixed very quickly,” the French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said.

“The long sequence of global warming we are experiencing requires that we change our lifestyles," he added.

Firefighters are hopeful they can contain the fire by the end of the day as its rate of spread starts to slow, according to broadcaster BFM TV.

Meteo-France released satellite imagery showing the smoke plume rising over southern France, visible even from space.

The agency warned that fire risk will remain high in several southern departments over the next two days.

In Spain, a fire that started on Tuesday in the southwestern Spanish city of Cadiz was stabilized on late Wednesday following the evacuation of approximately 1,500 people, according to public broadcaster RTVE.

Another fire in A Coruna, which began the same day, remained active Wednesday evening and had burned around 110 hectares (272 acres).

The Spanish meteorological agency Aemet issued a special heat wave alert, forecasting temperatures up to 42C (108F) through at least Aug. 12.

In Portugal, 73 fire incidents were recorded by Wednesday afternoon, according to public broadcaster RTP News.

While the situation has calmed, authorities remain vigilant against fires.

Mainland Portugal remains under a state of alert until Aug. 7, with a decision expected Thursday on whether to extend it.

In Bulgaria’s southern province of Haskovo, wildfires have burned over 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) since Tuesday, according to the Bulgarian News Agency.

Though the fires are now reportedly contained on all fronts, several hotspots remain within the perimeter.