Fire in Aude: fire “still active”, 2,000 hectares affected… Update on the situation

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A fire of rare intensity swept through more than 2,000 hectares of forest near Narbonne on Monday, July 7, closing the A9 motorway and forcing residents of a hamlet to leave their homes, which were eventually engulfed in flames. Here's a look at the situation.

• How did the fire spread?

The fire, which started on Monday around 3 p.m. in unknown circumstances at a vineyard near the D613 departmental road in the Corbières massif, spread quickly, fanned by the tramontane wind with gusts of 90 km/h, according to Météo-France forecaster Adrien Warnan.

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In addition, vegetation dried out by a significant rainfall deficit – reaching 69% in June – and the prolonged heatwave of recent days form a formidable incendiary cocktail, continued Adrien Warnan.

An investigation has been opened by the Narbonne prosecutor's office to determine the cause of the fire. Dash and Canadair aircraft were scheduled to resume their rotations at daybreak.

• Were there any injuries?

Up to 1,070 firefighters battled the flames and five of them were "very slightly injured," the Aude prefecture said in a press release published on Tuesday morning, July 8.

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Five civilians were also "taken into care, including a child" , and the flames damaged several houses and destroyed a workshop and a stable, the prefecture added.

At 6 a.m. on Tuesday, authorities maintained the lockdown measures applied to several neighborhoods in the south of Narbonne, the hamlet of Prat-de-Cest in the commune of Bages, and that of Peyriac-de-Mer.

The fire "is still active ," state services warn, and traffic conditions "will remain very disrupted ." The A9 motorway, which links France to Spain along the Mediterranean, has been closed near Narbonne and will be reopened to traffic from 10 a.m., the prefecture announced.

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