After affecting 18 percent of the small 58 square kilometre (22 square mile) Amsterdam Island on January 29, the fire is now hitting 45 percent of its territory, the prefecture for France's French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) told AFP.
"There has been dry weather, and strong, shifting winds, with many changes of direction since January 15," said the prefecture, explaining the expansion of the fire.
"The fire is being allowed to burn, because given the isolation of the island, there is no way to extinguish the fire at the moment," it added.
Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, approximately 2,800 (1,740 miles) kilometres southeast of the French overseas territory of La Reunion, Amsterdam Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world.
The 31 people -- mainly military personnel and scientists -- who were on the island when the fire broke out were all evacuated by boat the following day to Reunion.
It is not yet known what caused the fire.
Amsterdam Island is home to the Martin-de-Vivies scientific station, an internationally important site for monitoring greenhouse gas concentration worldwide.
"The base has been affected, the buildings are still standing but some water supply and telecommunications infrastructure is no longer operational," the prefecture said.
A French naval surveillance frigate Floreal was being despatched to the island to examine the current situation with firefighters and other experts on board.
They will go to the site to measure the progress of the fire, the extent of the damage and to investigate the causes of the fire, the prefecture said.
A haven for wildlife, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands, none of which have any permanent settled population, also include the remote Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Ocean.
After Patagonia, Argentina's northern prairies consumed by fires
Buenos Aires (AFP) Feb 12, 2025 -
Wildfires have consumed up to 250,000 hectares of land in northeast Argentina since January, local officials said Tuesday as firefighters continue to battle blazes in the remote southern region of Patagonia.
The fires in the northeastern province of Corrientes have consumed an area the size of Vancouver Island that is covered in farmland and pine forests, according to figures provided by the Association of Rural Communities of Corrientes.
A 30-year-old teacher died of the burns she sustained on February 4 while trying to stop the flames engulfing her father's field in the village of Mariano I. Loza, the local mayor said at the weekend.
The area is parched by a drought and intense heat, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in recent days.
Greenpeace however also pointed a finger at illegal logging.
Patagonia, a region famous for its jagged Andean peaks and expansive grasslands, is meanwhile enduring its worst wildfire season in three decades, according to Greenpeace Argentina.
The largest fire currently is in Lanin National Park, situated around 40 kilometers (25 miles) northeast of the city of San Martin de los Andes.
Further south, a major fire was still advancing in the tourist town of El Bolson, situated in a valley dotted with fruit orchards, where an 80-year-old man died in early February from smoke inhalation.
"We are exhausted," Alejandro Namor, the city's fire chief, told AFP on Tuesday.
More than 120 houses have been gutted by the fire over the past two weeks and a thousand families have been evacuated.
Authorities suspect arson.
In an interview with AM 1350 radio, Namor said that residential areas were now out of danger but that extinguishing the flames in wooded areas could take up until "March or April."
Argentina's security and defense ministers Patricia Bullrich and Luis Petri announced the creation of a Federal Emergency Agency during a visit Tuesday to the area.
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