(National Times)- Firefighters in Saint-Vallier, southern France, continued to battle hotspots early Tuesday, as authorities monitored the contained wildfire, warning that hot, dry conditions could still spark new blazes. The fire, which began on August 5, is one of the largest recorded in France since 1949. Spread over 16,000 hectares (around 40,000 acres), it has led to one fatality, injured 19 firefighters and six civilians, and several dozen homes have been destroyed. French authorities have attributed the fire to the impact of climate change. Before the fire began, the region’s wine growers had dug up an extensive area of their vineyards, which traditionally serve as a natural, moisture-retentive firebreak, as declining wine consumption and subsidies have reduced profits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(National Times)- Firefighters in Saint-Vallier, southern France, continued to battle hotspots early Tuesday, as authorities monitored the contained wildfire, warning that hot, dry conditions could still spark new blazes. The fire, which began on August 5, is one of the largest recorded in France since 1949. Spread over 16,000 hectares (around 40,000 acres), it has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n