A wildfire is currently burning near Die, in the Drôme, where around 80 hectares of vegetation have already been destroyed in a rugged, mountainous area that is difficult to access. Firefighters on the ground are facing challenging conditions as they work to reach the affected areas, with aerial resources, including a water-bombing helicopter, providing crucial support. The blaze broke out near the Justin state-owned forest, in the same area that was affected by a wildfire last week. The fire broke out Thursday evening and is
still ongoing. Overnight on Thursday tourists and local residents had to be moved after another wildfire broke out in the town of Sainte-Marie-la-Mer and spread to Canet-en-Roussillon, near Perpignan, on Thursday. The fire that started at a campsite destroyed dozens of mobile homes before spreading to the marina area, where thick, toxic smoke blanketed the boats. Firefighters said nearly 3,000 people were evacuated with half of them from three campsites in the affected area. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, said Pierre Regnault de La Mothe,
the top regional official for the département of Pyrenées-Orientales. Two hundred firefighters and four water-bombing helicopters were deployed to put out the blazes. READ ALSO: MAP: How to get the latest wildfire information and alerts in France “We are mobilising a large network of volunteers,” said the prefect. The fire was declared under control on Friday morning. Meanwhile, a large fire that broke out in the Hérault and Aude départements on Wednesday is still spreading, fuelled by strong winds. By Friday it had already scorched
about 900 hectares and is finally under control according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. At the height of the fire, 900 firefighters and Civil Protection personnel were deployed to tackle the flames. Four Canadair aircraft and one helicopter took part in the operations. On Thursday, about 200 people were evacuated or confined in the communes of Pouzols‑Minervois and Mailhac, officials said. “The smoke was so thick, so suffocating that firefighters told us to leave,” said one evacuated woman, Danielle, 99, from Pouzols. The flames spread
across 900 hectares in the Aude département and 100 in the Hérault département. Firefighters in the Bouches-du-Rhône department were still battling Thursday morning to bring under control a wildfire that has burned 260 hectares north of Marseille, after successfully containing a second fire overnight. Hundreds of people who were evacuated during the night have now been authorised to return to their homes in La Fare-les-Oliviers, a small village caught between the two fires at Lançon-Provence and Rognac. The second fire was brought under control after
burning 40 hectares. Six départements in the south of France were placed on a red alert for ‘forest fires’ on Thursday and Friday. In June, France experienced a record-breaking heatwave which lasted 11 days and saw temperatures climb above 40C in many places. READ ALSO: Do heatwaves cause wildfires in France? Apart from having “major impacts” on human health, ecosystems, agriculture, and infrastructure, the extraordinary heatwave worsened the risk of wildfires, the World Meteorological Organisation has said. Some French politicians have denounced what they call
the authorities’ inadequate measures to help France face rising temperatures. The Greens on Thursday filed a no-confidence motion against the government of Sébastien Lecornu. Lecornu said on Thursday that “climatic events” had contributed to “fairly severe” and unusually early forest fires. “We must acknowledge that they are occurring roughly 15 days to three weeks earlier than the usual periods,” he said at a crisis meeting in the southern city of Marseille. He said that 7,000 wildfires had been recorded since the start of the season,
with 8,700 hectares already destroyed by the flames. The intensity and early onset of the fires will require “a great deal of endurance” from both authorities and firefighters, the prime minister added. About 2,000 firefighters, including volunteers and military personnel, were mobilised on Wednesday and Thursday.
France wildfires, Die Drôme, Sainte-Marie-la-Mer, Canet-en-Roussillon, evacuated, Pyrenees-Orientales, Hérault, Aude, Marseille, red alert forest fires, firefighters