Fires: several fires reported in France, including in Martigues and the Brocéliande forest

"A major forest fire" started early Thursday evening in the commune of Martigues, northwest of Marseille , announced the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture, calling on residents of two hamlets in the town to stay indoors.

By 9:30 p.m., the fire had already covered 130 hectares, the department's firefighters said, stressing that more than 450 personnel and more than 180 vehicles had been deployed to fight the flames, as well as "numerous aerial resources," Canadair and Dash planes and water bomber helicopters.

Via a FR-Alert message sent to 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 actions implemented have made it possible to limit the threat to homes," the firefighters reassured around 9:30 p.m., even though "on the other hand, the forest continues to be threatened on the flanks of the fire."

A major fire also broke out this Thursday afternoon in the Brocéliande forest, west of Rennes, where around 100 hectares of vegetation had burned by early evening. The fire broke out around 4 p.m. in the town of Tréhorenteuc (Morbihan), about 60 kilometers west of Rennes, and continued to spread into the early evening.

"The fire is spreading in a north/northeast direction and is now mainly located in the department of Ille-et-Vilaine" in the commune of Paimont, the prefecture stated in a press release issued at 7:45 p.m.

Nearly 200 firefighters from Morbihan, a department placed on drought alert Wednesday by the authorities, and from Ille-et-Vilaine have been mobilized. "The spread of the fire is facilitated by the dryness of the vegetation and strong winds," the prefecture stated, adding that "aerial reinforcements, Air Tractor and Dash 8, have arrived and have begun dropping fires on the fire site."

The Vannes-Meucon pelicandrome (a water or retardant supply point for water bombers, editor's note) has been activated. "No homes are threatened at this stage," assured the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture, which was also mobilized. However, several departmental roads have been closed, and residents are being asked to avoid the area and facilitate access for emergency services.

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