4 Die, Thousands Evacuated as Fires Blacken the French Riviera

Forest fires swept through parts of the French Riviera on Tuesday, killing at least four people, devastating scenic woods and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Authorities speculated that the blazes, which damaged or destroyed about 60 homes, were caused by arson. About 30 broke out nearly simultaneously Monday, and some Molotov cocktails were found, local officials said.

Authorities were still investigating and had not definitively determined the cause.

Firefighters met with some success battling the fires near the western portion of the French Riviera, but at least one re-erupted Tuesday east of Draguignan, about 30 miles west of the fashionable resort of Cannes, which was unscathed.

Forest fires frequently devastate swaths of the Riviera back country during the summer. But the blazes that erupted Monday were described as the worst in the southern region of Var in decades.

Clouds of yellow and gray smoke blew across the sky about halfway between Toulon and Nice. Thick with Mediterranean pine trees and picturesque bays, the region is a magnet for tourists and a favorite of painters.

A 15-year-old British girl and her grandmother died Monday in Plan de La Tour, while a Polish man was killed in Vidauban. A Dutch woman died Monday while being transferred to a hospital by helicopter from Sainte-Maxime, a seaside resort near tony St. Tropez.

Their identities were not released.

Police in Draguignan said they had detained a 30-year-old municipal employee from the nearby village of Figanieres who was suspected of having started several fires. Details were not available.