LIVE. Fire in Aude: Fire still burning, Prefect calls on residents to "stay indoors"

Christian Pouget, Prefect of Aude, confirmed this morning that "for the moment" the fire remains "still active."

350 people have been accommodated in the rooms opened by the mayors since yesterday evening, including Narbonne where 200 people are being welcomed at the conference center.

"For 2,000 hectares, the results are quite modest," said the prefect.

Residents are urged to "stay indoors." Surveys are underway to allow the "safe reopening" of the A9 and "relieve traffic congestion."

Michel Jammes, mayor of Sigean, said that a reception center was opened last night, primarily to accommodate destitute residents or travelers who were unable to reach their destination after the closure of the A9 motorway.

"We opened a shelter last night. We're hosting 200 people," he explains.

The territory is, according to him, in a "state of extreme drought."

The Aude prefecture announces that population containment measures are "maintained" in the Roches-Grises, Montplaisir, Réveillon and Domaine de la Jonquières districts of Narbonne.

They are also in that of Prat-de-Cest in Bages and in the whole of the commune of Peyriac-de-Mer.

The Aude prefect issued an assessment this morning at 6:30 a.m., approximately 12 hours after the fire started.

A workshop and a stable were destroyed, and three horses were killed. Six houses, a chapel, and a barn were partially damaged, as were two heavy goods vehicles on the RD6009.

So far, five firefighters have been "very slightly injured" and five "civilians", including a child, have been taken into care.

While firefighters are battling the flames, and the damage assessment "is underway" according to the director of the Aude Sdis, the latter states that no evacuation is currently "planned or scheduled".

However, he reminds the population of the need to respect the confinement rules.

According to the Aude fire chief on BFMTV this morning, the fire is raging in "a rugged area" with "limited access."

Firefighters prioritize their actions on "people and property."

The closure of the A9, as well as the national road 9, remains in effect due to the fire, according to Colonel Christophe Magny, director of the Aude SDIS.

Colonel Christophe Magny, director of the Aude Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS), gave an update on the night on BFMTV. He reported that "nearly 2,000 hectares" had been burned and that "the fire continues to spread."

The flames "progressed forward" according to him while "the left flank" of the fire "poses a problem" with a widening zone which "affects the south of Narbonne".

"More than 1,000 firefighters from all over France and 300 vehicles, with significant aerial resources, remain mobilized," continued the head of the Aude fire service.

No casualties have been reported so far.

The rapid spread of the flames is of particular concern to the region's residents.

This is the case for Émilie, who lives in the area and says she was "very disturbed to see" the flames. "I went there because on social media, we saw calls for help from a stable that had completely burned down, and we don't know where the horses are," she said on BFMTV. "We wanted to help, but we can't even (...) because the fire is too big. We can't even imagine the disaster out there," she laments, "distraught and completely helpless."

Another resident of the Narbonne area, Anthony, describes the "impressive" speed of the flames.

"It started very, very quickly (...), it looks like a volcano," he described on BFMTV. "It's awful, we have a magnificent region. Seeing this is inconceivable, we don't know where to look," he said on our channel, moved.

Read the full article here .

Hello everyone and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the violent fire raging in the Aude region since yesterday afternoon.

According to authorities, 1,500 hectares have already burned and five houses have been affected by the flames, while 1,070 firefighters are mobilized for the intervention.