Météo France placed 27 departments at “high” risk of forest fires on Monday July 20, and six on orange alert for heatwaves, while extreme heat and drought favored fires in the Var and Corsica on Sunday.
All the departments of the Pays de la Loire region, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Charente, Charente-Maritime, Vienne, Gironde and Deux-Sèvres, but also Tarn-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales, Hérault, Gard, Aveyron, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Drôme, Var and Haute-Corse are placed at “high” risk of fires, according to the meteorological organization’s bulletin published at 6 a.m.
Departments on fire alert this Monday, July 20
In the Var, several fires broke out on Sunday, a day placed on orange alert for heat waves by Météo-France, and at “extreme” risk for forest fires. The massifs had also all been closed preventively. The most virulent, which mobilized more than 600 firefighters on Sunday evening, began around 3 p.m., in the town of Taradeau, behind the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.
In Corsica, fires still active after a week
The operations were to “continue throughout the night to extinguish all residual outbreaks,” said the prefecture. Four Mediterranean departments (Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Var) are also placed on orange heatwave vigilance by Météo France, in addition to Corsica. In Haute-Corse, isolated mountain areas are also plagued by fires. Two fires, started by lightning on July 12, are still active a week later.
Météo France places 28 departments on the west and south coast at “high” risk of fires for Tuesday. Four departments will fall into “very high” risk: Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse and Var.
