Firefighters in France have brought under control the largest fire to hit the south of the country in decades, officials said Thursday evening.

The giant blaze in the southern department of Aude has burned through more than 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of land, killing one person and injuring 13 others.

Though the fire is now under control, some 2,000 firefighters remain on duty around the blaze which will not be "declared extinguished for several days," said Christian Pouget, the prefect for Aude. "There is still a lot of work to be done," he added.

What do we know about the fire?

The blaze started on Tuesday afternoon in Ribaute before sweeping through the Aude department between Narbonne and Carcassonne.

Thirty-six homes have so far been destroyed with another 20 being damaged. The fire also burned through 54 vehicles and affected 16 communities.

Some 1,500 households were still without electricity on Thursday evening.

Authorities have prohibited access to the forests that were hit by the fire until at least Sunday.

Is more hot weather on the way?

Meanwhile, temperatures between 35 and 41 degrees Celsius (95 to 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit) have been forecast for the weekend.

In response, national railway operator SNCF has cancelled multiple Intercity trains in southern France. The company said older train carriages used on some routes may not be able to endure the extreme heat, risking malfunction, according to radio station France Info.

Routes between Bordeaux and Marseille, Paris and Toulouse, and Clermont-Ferrand will be called off during peak heat hours.

Edited by: Wesley Dockery