Environment. Brittany, Ardèche, Var... France hit by forest fires

A fire currently raging in the Cévennes region of Ardèche has covered nearly 40 hectares, amid heightened vigilance over forest fires due to the drought.

"Nearly 40 hectares have burned, 100 hectares are threatened," in an area near the town of Valgorge, the Ardèche prefecture announced around 5:45 p.m. No homes or sensitive areas are located nearby, the government services specified. Two departmental roads are closed while the firefighters respond.

Around a hundred firefighters are mobilized, and 53 engines are deployed, as well as two Civil Security Dash aircraft, a water-bombing helicopter, two reconnaissance aircraft, and a coordination helicopter. This is "the first fire of the season," according to the prefecture. The department was on yellow alert Thursday, and orange alert Wednesday, for forest fires. Weather conditions "should be more favorable" in the coming hours to bring the blaze under control, the prefecture estimates.

According to the department, the fire started when a brush cutter, a machine used to clear brush from roadsides, passed by. On the social network X, François-Noël Buffet, Minister to the Minister of the Interior, emphasized that "today, the risk of #forestfires affects the entire country."

A major fire also broke out this Thursday afternoon in the Brocéliande forest, west of Rennes, where around 100 hectares of vegetation burned. The fire broke out around 4 p.m. in the town of Tréhorenteuc (Morbihan) and continued to spread into the early evening. Nearly 200 firefighters from Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine were mobilized.

"The spread of the fire is being facilitated by the dryness of the vegetation and strong winds," the prefecture warned. Aerial reinforcements (Air Tractor and Dash 8) have been requested to support ground resources and are expected to arrive early this evening. The Vannes Meucon pelicandrome [a water or retardant supply point for water bomber aircraft, editor's note] has been activated, the authorities stated.

"No homes are threatened at this stage," assured the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture, which is also mobilized. The Brocéliande forest, very popular with tourists at this time of year, had experienced very significant fires in the summer of 2022. One of them covered more than 600 hectares and destroyed around 400. This forest, which covers more than 9,000 hectares, is a key site of Arthurian legend, straddling eastern Morbihan and southwest Ille-et-Vilaine.

The Var prefecture also announced that a forest fire broke out this Thursday at 6:30 p.m. along the A8 motorway in the Nice-Aix direction, following "a technical problem with a heavy goods vehicle. Nearly 4 hectares have already been covered without threatening any homes at this stage. The prefect added that "400 firefighters, 100 vehicles and 6 helicopters" have been mobilized. Traffic on the A8 remains open but is significantly slowed.

A "major forest fire" began early Thursday evening in the town of Martigues, northwest of Marseille, the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture announced, urging residents of two hamlets in the town to stay indoors. By 9:30 p.m., the fire had already spread across 130 hectares, the department's firefighters said, noting that more than 450 personnel and more than 180 vehicles had been deployed to combat the flames, as well as "numerous aerial resources," including Canadair and Dash aircraft and water-bombing helicopters.

Via a FR-Alert message on the mobile phones of residents in the area, some forty kilometers northwest of Marseille, the Prefecture called on residents to confine themselves "in solid buildings," with "shutters and doors" closed, particularly in the hamlets of Saint-Julien and Les Ventrons.

The prefecture also asked residents of Carro and La Couronne to "remain vigilant," stressing that "several hamlets in Martigues are affected by the fire's trajectory." "The measures implemented are limiting the threat to homes," the firefighters reassured around 9:30 p.m., even though "the forest continues to be threatened on the flanks of the fire."

On July 8, a violent fire that started from a burning car on the side of the highway covered 750 hectares between Pennes-Mirabeau and Marseille, affecting 91 buildings, 60 of which were destroyed or are now uninhabitable, mainly in the Marseille district of L'Estaque.