Fires: the town of Martigues, the forest of Brocéliande and the Ardèche region in flames

With periods of extreme heat appearing earlier and more frequent, France is facing the emergence of an unprecedented wave of fires across its territory. Nearly 7,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke and 5,900 fires have been detected since the beginning of 2025. The latest example is that of Marseille and Narbonne, both devastated on July 8 by the fire that covered 750 hectares between Pennes-Mirabeau and the Phocaean city, affecting 91 buildings – 60 of which were destroyed or are now uninhabitable, mainly in the Marseille district of L'Estaque.

Four new areas have been affected by the flames since Thursday, July 17. First, the town of Martigues, where the fire broke out late in the afternoon, around 7 p.m., about forty kilometers northwest of Marseille. The fire was still not "under control" at daybreak on Friday, after having covered 240 hectares. "Nevertheless, the situation is clearly improving, due in particular to the humidity level rising to 40% and the change in the wind," the prefecture announced in its latest situation update at 6:30 a.m.

973 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, while 320 ground vehicles and nine aircraft—seven Canadairs and two Dashes—as well as two water-bombing helicopters were deployed. Similarly, thirty members of the internal security forces are ensuring the safety of the population in the area. This is the first fire in 2025 to have mobilized "so many resources" in the department, the sub-prefect of the Aix-en-Provence district, Bruno Cassette, assured Thursday evening during a press briefing in Martigues.

While no casualties were reported, apart from two slightly injured firefighters, 104 people were evacuated and taken in to shelters opened for this purpose in Martigues and the neighboring town of Sausset-les-Pins. As for the containment measures, taken Thursday evening for two hamlets in Martigues, Saint-Julien and Les Ventrons, they remained "active and imperative" Friday morning. In total, "120 homes were threatened" by the flames, according to the prefecture.

Given the situation, it is, for the moment, impossible to "identify any possible damage or impacts on the houses" , insists the press release from the authorities, who specify that "assessments are underway by the firefighters" . The commune of Martigues had already been hit by a violent fire on August 4, 2020, which covered 1,000 hectares and completely ravaged two holiday villages. Evacuations were then carried out by sea, by boat.

The Ardèche Cévennes were also affected by a fire that covered nearly 40 hectares, while "100 hectares are threatened" in an area near the commune of Valgorge, the Ardèche prefecture alerted Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday, July 17, at around 5:45 p.m. No homes or sensitive areas are located nearby, the state services specified.

However, two departmental roads have been closed to give firefighters free rein. Around a hundred firefighters have been mobilized and fifty-three vehicles have been deployed, as well as two civil security Dash planes, a water bombing helicopter, two reconnaissance planes and a coordination helicopter. This is "the first fire of the season," the prefecture announced.

The department was placed on yellow alert on Thursday and orange alert on Wednesday for the risk of forest fires. By Thursday evening, authorities were counting on "more favorable" weather conditions to bring the fire under control. According to the department, the blaze started when a brush cutter, a machine used to clear brush from roadsides, passed over it.

The third major fire broke out in the Paimpont forest, near the town of Tréhorenteuc (Morbihan), in the Brocéliande massif, on Thursday around 4 p.m. The flames are already contained, however, announced Patrice Fénéon, the commander of the SDIS35 rescue operations, on ICI Armorique (formerly France Bleu) this evening.

Nearly 120 hectares of vegetation – out of more than 9,000 – went up in smoke, before the flames were finally brought under control at 11:30 p.m., the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture announced. "As I speak to you, the fire is contained, that is to say, we have stopped its progression," explained Lieutenant-Colonel Patrice Fénéon, of the SDIS of Ille-et-Vilaine, during a press conference organized late Thursday evening. "We will spend the night extinguishing all the fires that we identify, particularly using drones." In total, more than 335 firefighters from Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine, numerous ground resources, including two water bomber planes, an Air Tractor and a Dash 8, were mobilized.

The fire broke out about sixty kilometers west of Rennes. It then spread in a north-northeast direction before mainly affecting the town of Paimpont, in Ille-et-Vilaine. "The spread of the fire is facilitated by the dryness of the vegetation and strong winds," the prefecture stated, adding that "air reinforcements, Air Tractor and Dash 8, arrived and began dropping water on the fire site." These drops were interrupted as night fell. The pelicandrome - a water or retardant supply point for water bomber planes - in Vannes-Meucon was activated. No homes were threatened, according to the Ille-et-Vilaine prefecture. However, several departmental roads were closed and the population is asked to avoid the area and facilitate access for emergency services.

Earlier on Thursday, Michaël Galy, prefect of Morbihan, explained on franceinfo that significant human and technical resources had been deployed: "Eight forest fire intervention groups, four from Morbihan and four from Ille-et-Vilaine are engaged to fight the fire, i.e. around 200 firefighters on the ground." Following this fire, the prefecture issued a call for caution and issued a temporary ban on access to wooded areas and moors in the municipalities at risk until Friday evening. The Brocéliande forest , very popular with tourists at this time of year, had experienced very significant fires in August 2022. Some 400 hectares of the forest had been destroyed by the flames.