Around 500 people have been evacuated in the south of France where a violent forest fire, which has already covered more than 2,550 hectares, continues to progress, authorities announced on Wednesday.
• Also read: Madrid fire ‘one of the most complex’ in Spanish history
• Also read: Fire north of Madrid: 26,000 hectares ravaged, 1,200 evacuated
In recent weeks, firefighters have been faced with daily fire outbreaks across the country. Worsened by repeated heatwaves and a severe drought, the fire season in 2026 started earlier than usual.
AFP
Since the start of the year, around 40,000 hectares have been burned, “much more than all that was burned last year”, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Never, in 20 years of measurements, have so many areas burned in France in mid-July, satellite data from the European Effis system also show.
On Wednesday morning, nearly 390 homes were without electricity, compared to 2,600 overnight, according to local authorities.
AFP
In the Var (south-east), “by nightfall, the fire had covered 2,550 hectares.
Between 30 and 40 homes “were damaged”, but “several hundred were able to be protected”, local authorities indicated. In Cotignac, two religious sites, the Notre-Dame sanctuary and the Saint-Joseph Monastery, were “saved from the flames. »
The fight against the fire mobilizes some 1,100 firefighters, 350 engines and 50 gendarmes, with reinforcements from different regions of the country.
“Very high speed”
They had been surprised the day before by a reactivation of the fire despite a drop in the wind.
“The fire is coming down from the Gros Bessillon mountain at a very high speed, which was not entirely predictable, given the climatic conditions,” explained the prefect of Var, Simon Babre.
AFP
In this wooded and hilly region of the Toulon hinterland, the fire started from a field, according to emergency services. An AFP videographer saw an impressive cloud of gray smoke rising behind the crests of a burning massif.
Before a nighttime interruption imposed by the lack of visibility, more than 100 drops were carried out by air assets, which mobilized eight Canadairs, four water bomber helicopters and two Dash planes during the day.
A fire tanker truck was damaged and “four firefighters and two residents of Pontevès were slightly poisoned by smoke”, according to the prefecture.
AFP
During an intervention on another fire in the southwest of the country, two firefighters died on Tuesday near Bordeaux airport, according to the emergency services. Their tanker truck was “trapped” by the flames, near Bordeaux airport.
Severe drought
Across the French Mediterranean arc, the authorities are increasing calls for vigilance for this week, due to a dry and hot wind which is expected to increase at the end of the week, scorching temperatures and dry vegetation.
Another virulent fire burned 200 hectares in the Var and destroyed homes between Sunday and Monday.
In the Hautes-Alpes (south-east), a vegetation fire caused by a lightning strike five days ago covered 130 hectares in the Ecrins massif, in an uninhabited and “very difficult to access” area.
Some 90 firefighters are mobilized, explained Tuesday the prefect of Hautes-Alpes, Philippe Bailbé. Falling rocks complicated their task: a firefighter was slightly injured by a rock and an engine damaged by a two-ton block.
Corsica was also affected. Despite ten days of fighting, a fire in the Corte sector is still very active, with the Haute-Corse prefecture noting an “unfavorable” situation on Wednesday, with gusts locally rising up to 80 km/h and “particularly low humidity levels.” » This fire has already covered 260 hectares.
Another fire, which covered 284 hectares in the Corsican area of Albertacce, remains under “active surveillance” after a brief resurgence at night which was able to be contained, according to local authorities.
