A wildfire in southern France has forced Marseille airport to close and interrupted train traffic as the blaze spread rapidly to the edges of the southern French city.

Tuesday's fire started in a vehicle in the area of Pennes-Mirabeau to the north ofMarseille, on the road to its airport, roaring across 350 hectares by the afternoon, firefighters said.

It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday and cancel at least 10 flights, a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said.

The air hub's website showed departures including to Brussels, Munich and Naples had been called off.

The fire is decreasing in intensity but has not stabilised,the city's prefecture said on Wednesday morning. It has covered a total of 700 hectares.

Rail travel in Marseille was also affected. More than a dozen trains in and out of the city were cancelled on Tuesday, according to the SNCF national rail operator's website. Traffic was expected to return to normal on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Marseille mayor Benoit Payan on X warned residents that the fire was now "at the doors of Marseille", urging inhabitants in the north of the city to refrain from taking to the roads to leave way for rescue services.

The mayor of Pennes-Mirabeau said two housing estates had been evacuated and firefighters had positioned themselves outside an old people's home to fight off approaching flames.

Wildfires in southern France mark start of season spurred by high temperatures

'Enormous fire' in neighbouring Narbonne

The fire near Marseille is just the latest to have hit southern France in recent days,fanning out at speed due to wind and parched vegetation after a heatwave..

To the west along theMediterraneancoast, near the city of Narbonne, more than 1,000 firefighters from around the country were seeking to contain another blaze.

It had crept across 2,000 hectares of trees since starting on the property of a winery on Monday afternoon, they said.

In the village of Prat-de-Cest on Tuesday morning, trees were blackened or still on fire.

Frederic Bou stayed all night to hose down the great pines opposite his house so the fire would not engulf their home.

"I've never seen anything like it. I have never lived next to such an enormous fire," he told French news agency AFP, reporting flames dozens of metres high.

The fire near Narbonne caused authorities to temporarily close the A9 autoroute to Spain.

(with AFP)

Originally published on RFI