CANNES - Over 4,000 people had to flee their homes in the hills behind France's picturesque Mediterranean coast overnight as two massive fires spread over a huge area, rescue officials said Friday.
br>Apart from a firefighter with light burns, there were no immediate reports of casualties, however. The biggest blaze spread over some 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of brush and forest in the Maures hills behind Saint-Raphael in the Var region, one of the country's premier tourist destinations.

Rescue officials said several dozen vehicles and a number of bungalows were destroyed in the blaze, which had mobilised some 1,300 firefighters. They said it was the biggest forest fire in the Var department since 1990.

As dawn broke on Friday the fire was close to the tourist centres of Les Issambres and Saint Aygulf, near Saint-Raphael. Further to the east in the neighbouring department, or administrative area, of Alpes de Haute Provence, some 1,100 people had to be evacuated due to a fire in the rugged Verdon region. Over 400 firefighters were trying to stop the fire, and one had to be hospitalized with light burns.

Rescue officials said the Verdon blaze had spread over 900 hectares (2,000 acres) and crossed into the Var area. Residents and campers were evacuated from the village of Esparron-de-Verdon, and parts of the town of Saint-Laurent-de-Verdon, as a precautionary measure. Firefighters were being called in from all over the country to fight the blaze. They were using helicopters and water-dropping planes.

No rain is expected for the French Riviera until at least Sunday night, when there is a small chance of isolated thunder showers. Wind forecast is expecting moderate breezes for these regions. Copyright 2003 - AFP & WeatherOnline