Fires: All Bouches-du-Rhône mountain ranges closed due to “very severe” risk of forest fires

All the Bouches-du-Rhône mountain ranges are closed on Thursday, July 10, due to a "very severe" risk of fire, two days after a fire that covered 750 hectares and reached the northern districts of Marseille , causing concern among the population.

The department's twenty-five mountain ranges, including the highly touristic Calanques National Park and the Alpilles, are affected, the prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region specifies, while the wind is expected to pick up again during the afternoon. "A simple cigarette butt, a spark, a barbecue, or carelessness can cause a catastrophe," the prefect specifies, warning of the vulnerability of vegetation to the slightest outbreak of fire.

Regarding Tuesday's fire, 120 firefighters remained mobilized in the Pennes-Mirabeau area, where the fire started. They "worked all night to completely extinguish the remaining embers," emergency services said. On Thursday, they will continue to monitor for possible reactivation of the fire, given the temperatures, which are not expected to exceed 30°C.

In Marseille, 58 firefighters and 17 engines were still "ready to respond to any weak signal of a restart," according to the firefighters, who added: "The risk is decreasing, even if the fire is not yet considered extinguished." Since 7 a.m., people evacuated the day before have been allowed to return home, if they can.

After headlined "Fear in the city" on Wednesday, the regional daily La Provence made its front page on Thursday about "The despair" of the residents affected by this fire, which ravaged several pockets of homes in the ^16th arrondissement of the city, with nearly 90 houses affected and 71 rendered "uninhabitable" , according to the prefecture.