Fire near Marseille: A7 and A51 motorways closed, disruptions at the airport... What we know
Summary: While the Bouches-du-Rhône department is on red alert for forest fires, a new fire near Marseille caused disruptions this Monday afternoon.
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire in Pennes-Mirabeau, near Marseille, on July 8, 2025. LILIAN AUFFRET / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP
A fire north of Marseille caused several disruptions on the roads and in the air this Monday afternoon, July 28th. For three days, the Bouches-du-Rhône department has been on red alert for forest fires, particularly due to a strong mistral wind. Here's what we know about this new blaze in southeastern France.
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The fire is "in progress" in the towns of Pennes Mirabeau and Septèmes-les-Vallons, the prefecture reported on X, calling via a FR-Alert message on mobile phones to "avoid " the area.
The Bouches-du-Rhône firefighters "are massively engaged" in fighting this fire, we can read on their X account. 400 firefighters have in fact been mobilized, assisted by 100 ground vehicles and significant aerial resources, with four Canadair, two Dash planes and two water bomber helicopters according to a press release from the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture.
The aim is to prevent the fire from spreading "towards the Massif de l'Étoile" , which borders the city of Marseille to the north, and to "protect any homes" , the firefighters said in a statement, calling on motorists not to "use the main roads or secondary roads" to allow emergency services to intervene.
• Two highways closedThe A7 and A51 motorways have been closed in both directions at interchange 517, the prefecture also indicated, urging people not to attempt to go up to Aix-en-Provence or down to Vitrolles via the secondary roads, to avoid plumes of smoke.
On the other side of the interchange, to the north, the Lemon Hotel was also on the front lines of the disaster: "We can see large plumes of smoke from the windows, and for the moment we're all alone so we're on edge," Bahija Kermoun, 51, manager of the establishment, told AFP by telephone.
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