Three major wildfires are still active in the south and south-west of France on Sunday (July 7) after a weekend marked by high temperatures and strong winds. Several homes and workers have been evacuated.
Fires are ongoing in Lattes (Hérault) and Montlieu-la-Garde (Charente-Maritime) and emergency services remain mobilised in Moux (Aude). A fourth fire in Fabrègues (Hérault) has now been largely contained overnight.
feuduforet.fr
In Hérault in the south of France, a fire began in Fabrègues early on Saturday afternoon, spreading rapidly to neighbouring Mireval, forcing the authorities to order several home evacuations and cutting power to hundreds of homes.
The A9 motorway was shut in both directions for several hours, disrupting the first weekend of the summer holiday getaway.
Motorway operator Vinci autoroutes reported a major backlog of traffic in both directions. The A9 was reopened at 20:00.
Fire crews worked through the night, and by 02:00 on July 7 the blaze was declared “under control” by Jérôme Bonnafoux, spokesperson for the Hérault fire service.
Nearly 400 hectares of garrigue brushland and pine forest were affected, although the final figure is expected to be revised slightly downwards after full mapping with drones and the Office national des forêts.
“The wind has picked up again this morning,” Mr Bonnafoux told Franceinfo on Sunday, “and though the temperature has dropped slightly, we are keeping watch to prevent any reignition.”
The fire had come dangerously close to the Goodyear testing circuit in Mireval, a site containing tyres, fuel and vehicles.
Ad
Employees were ordered to leave the company’s premises on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a long and difficult battle,” said Mr Bonnafoux, adding that this may be the beginning of a challenging summer.
Another fire was reported 15km away in Lattes, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Emergency services have warned that it could affect woodland areas and urged local residents to remain alert.
In Aude, also in the south, a fire broke out Saturday afternoon near Moux, reportedly triggered by a car fire on the A61 motorway.
That blaze also swept through 400 hectares of brushland.
Over 300 firefighters and seven Canadair aircraft were called to tackle the flames. Authorities reported a “favourable” situation by nightfall, but 200 firefighters remained on site overnight to prevent further spread.
In Charente-Maritime, in the south-west, a fire at Montlieu-la-Garde is still ongoing. At least five hectares of pine forest have been destroyed since midnight.
Twenty fire engines have been deployed, with reinforcements arriving from neighbouring Gironde and Barbezieux.
Local officials confirmed the blaze was kept away from the nearby hamlet of Tatinet.
Authorities continue to stress the heightened risk of wildfires, particularly in southern and central France, where heat, wind and drought have combined to create highly flammable conditions.
At least six major fires were reported nationwide on Saturday alone, from the Bouches-du-Rhône to the Cher.
State weather forecaster Météo France publishes a daily ‘forest fire’ risk map in the summer, which shows departments where the risk of a blaze is highest.
It uses the same formatting as the forecaster’s weather maps and currently shows a heightened risk of fire along the Mediterranean coast, and in Bouches-du-Rhône in particular, which is at the maximum (red) alert level.
A more detailed map is also available at feuxdeforet.fr, which shows recent and ongoing fires across the country.
