Evacuation of residents at La Reunion, 2, 677 acres burned

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Forty-three people were evacuated and a house burned in the night from Saturday to Sunday in the hills of the western slope of the'île of Reunion, where a fire has already destroyed 2,677 acres since Tuesday.

The fire, fanned by violent gusts of wind, has come closer to agricultural areas, at 1,600 m altitude in the area of ​​La Chaloupe (commune of Saint-Leu). "A farm was hit and burned a house," said Sunday morning the prefecture of the French department of the Indian Ocean.

The wind ceased in the second half of the night, facilitating the work of firefighters to protect homes evacuated (three farms, a cottage and an equestrian center). No one was hurt.

The fires have already covered 2677 hectares, mainly in mountainous natural areas in the heart of National Park and Meeting of the listed World Heritage by UNESCO. Homes that threaten areas of high ecological value are stabilized, according to a statement released Sunday in the prefecture in the morning.

Sunday morning, 172 personnel against fire arrived as reinforcements metropolis, bringing to 600 the number of men mobilized on the front of the fire, supported by four helicopter water bombers.

The police also pursuing a criminal investigation to find the arsonists or suspected to have lit the first light Tuesday.