A fire rages through a pine forest in Sausset les pins, near Marseille in southern France, July 25, 2010. Fanned by strong winds, the blaze swept through 900 hectares of pine forest and scrubland in the Marseille region.
MARSEILLE, France - A wildfire spread over nine square kilometres (3.5 sq mile) of land in southern France late on Saturday, threatening homes and forcing some areas to be evacuated, fire services said.
The blaze started close to oil refineries near l'Etang de Berre, about 30 km (18 miles) west of the port city of Marseille, before spreading eastwards into arid woodlands.
Fanned by strong winds, television pictures showed large swathes of trees and vegetation ablaze and planes dropping water over the area.
Hundreds of firemen were battling to put out the flames, which were still raging on Sunday morning, but winds had calmed down, emergency services said.
About 2,000 tourists were moved from a campsite. No one was injured, officials said.