Authorities have urged 30,000 residents of five municipalities in eastern France to stay home today after a fire broke out in a warehouse classified as hazardous, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"For security reasons, residents of Gandrange, Amneville, Vitry-sur-Orne, Cluange and Rombas are asked to stay home until further notice," reads a warning message from the Moselle prefecture.
The fire broke out in a 500-square-meter warehouse belonging to the "Safe" company, located in the industrial zone of the village of Gandrange and classified as a hazardous industrial object.
Several hundred firefighters with nearly 50 fire engines were sent to the scene of the incident, the Operational Center for Fire Safety and Rescue Operations in the Moselle department told AFP.
"Given the presence of chemical products, temporary isolation measures must absolutely continue to be respected", the mayor of Gandrange - Canten Bigot wrote on Facebook.
"Stay at home. Close the doors and windows. Refrain from any unnecessary going out or traveling. "Do not approach the fire area under any circumstances," Bigot added, spreading the prefecture's warning message.
Meanwhile, a huge forest fire near Bordeaux, which has devastated an area four times the size of Paris and forced 224,000 people to evacuate, has been brought under control but is still burning.
A new fire in Provence was stopped overnight but is still not under control.
Some 3,000 firefighters are continuing to battle the flames on both fronts, putting out fires, building firebreaks and securing burned forest areas as high temperatures and strong winds threaten to fan the smoldering embers.
The fire in the Gironde prefecture has burned an area of nearly 420 sq km within 10 days, after which authorities declared it under control.
The region remains on its highest level of wildfire warning. Drought and rising temperatures, as well as afternoon winds, have created a risk of the fire reigniting.
Additional firefighting teams from Ukraine, Lithuania and French Polynesia are expected to arrive in the area today and tomorrow to help extinguish the fires.