Firefighters fear Var blaze could reignite, arson suspected

Firefighters continue to tackle a wildfire in the Var department burning for the sixth day, with concerns that high winds and warm temperatures could see the blaze flare up once more. 

The fire in the Gros Bessillon massif has not surpassed a perimeter of 1,850 hectares, but several flare-ups have occurred so far this week due to Mistral winds and heatwave conditions in the department. 

The Var is one of 10 departments in the south-east that remains on a heightened heatwave warning today.

There are 1,200 firefighters deployed to fight the blaze today and it is yet to be declared ‘fixé’ or contained.

Investigations into the fire point towards arson.

 “The hypothesis of deliberate arson is being seriously considered,” said the Draguignan public prosecutor yesterday.

“Six fire outbreaks involving human intervention have been recorded in the Gros Bessillon area,” since July 24, the Var prefect said. 

More than 300 arrests have been made in relation to this summer’s wildfires – set to be the most devastating on record – covering both those started intentionally and by accident.

Authorities continue to stress that around 90% of wildfires are caused by human activity, including deliberate and accidental causes. 

Restrictions remain in place across the Var today, with access to certain forested areas closed and a ban on vehicles entering certain rest areas on the A57 and A8 motorways.

Elsewhere, a fire in the Drôme also continues to burn, impacting 280 hectares of land. Two firefighters have been injured tackling the fire after their engine overturned when travelling through the difficult mountain terrain near the fire’s origin. 

Powerful storms across France yesterday led to three separate fires in the Ardèche department, all caused by lightning strikes.

Around 55 hectares of land were burned between the three incidents, as firefighters tackled the blazes with firefighting aircraft. 

However, the passage of yesterday’s storms has reduced the risk of fire in some departments, with state forecaster Météo France placing only eight departments on a heightened risk of fires today, and nine tomorrow. 

The government has declared the recent wildfires in the Gironde and Landes departments as major disasters (sinistres de grande ampleur). 

This will make it easier for certain recovery efforts to take place, for example clearing partially-burned trees to regenerate the forest.

The fire in Gironde burned 42,000 hectares of land, making it the second largest recorded in France.

The maps above from Météo France show the risk of new fires appearing, and not current blazes across the country. 

You can find a map of live fires at feuxdeforet.fr and the map below shows fires as of 10:00 this morning. 

Red indicates live fires, orange fires that have been reported but not confirmed, and black recently extinguished blazes.