LIVE. Fires: Fire still active in Marseille, prefecture lifts containment measures

In Castelnau-de-Guers in Hérault, the fire has been under control since early this morning thanks to the mobilization of 417 firefighters throughout the night.

The fire will have covered 3.5 kilometers, covering an area of ​​700 hectares. Approximately 400 hectares have been burned. "Flooding and edge treatment operations will continue throughout the day and into the night to completely extinguish the fire," the prefect said.

"The fire is not yet contained, and there are still blazes burning," confirmed Martine Vassal, president of the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolitan area, on BFMTV.

"Both the firefighters and the marine firefighters worked all night to stabilize the fire," but "it's not over yet." Martine Vassal remains cautious: "We're a little worried about the weather conditions. It's very dry, and we're afraid the wind will pick up again."

The president of the metropolis calls for caution.

The A7 is already heavily congested heading north due to the fires in Pennes-Mirabeau and Marseille. Two lanes have been reserved for emergency services.

The A55 remains closed, but could partially reopen with a dedicated fire lane along the side of the motorway. The Vieux-Port and Prado tunnels are also still closed.

The prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region has announced the easing of lockdown measures for residents of Marseille's 16th arrondissement. However, "it is still too early for those evacuated yesterday to return home."

Marseille Mayor Benoît Payan is calling on residents to "exercise the utmost caution," despite a "significant decline in the fire."

In Pennes-Mirabeau, the fire is still not contained or under control. Smoke still billows from the sky from the blaze over the forest. BFMTV was able to fly over the blaze in its helicopter.

A new "FR-Alert" alert message has been sent to the phones of people in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille, near the fire that spread to the Estaque district.

He is asking residents to stay indoors this morning and to avoid going to the forest area affected by the fire.

While weather conditions are improving, the fire in the Aude department, which started on Monday, is no longer spreading this morning, Julien Saddier, director of rescue operations in Narbonne, assured BFMTV.

In total, 2,000 hectares have been burned. 200 firefighters are still on site, assisted by 60 vehicles. Aerial resources, meanwhile, have been redeployed to the fires in the Marseille region and Hérault, the firefighter said.

The Hérault fire, which broke out yesterday afternoon between Sète and Agde, is now contained, firefighters told BFMTV. It has spread across 400 hectares.

Firefighters remain vigilant, particularly as the wind is expected to pick up in the afternoon.

In Marseille, dozens of houses burned down in the Estaque district, including that of Yanis's brother, who spoke on BFMTV.

"The fire spread very quickly. They were caught by surprise by the fire, they didn't even take any things with them, they lost everything. They left with one hand in front and one hand behind," Yanis laments.

"Everyone was surprised," said the resident of L'Estaque. The fire is still active but has "calmed down" since the day before, the Marseille resident said.

400 hectares burned in a few hours between Sète and Agde in Hérault yesterday late afternoon, a rapid progression notably due to unfavorable weather conditions.

This Wednesday morning, the wind died down, improving the situation on the scene for firefighters. However, the fire is not yet contained.

High-speed train service is expected to resume "normally" in Marseille this morning. "It is once again possible to operate the high-speed line between Marseille and Aix TGV," SNCF said in a press release.

Local train traffic remains severely disrupted.

The fire in Marseille is decreasing in intensity but is still active at the edge, the prefecture reported. It has not yet stabilized.

On the Pennes Mirabeau side, the fire has rekindled.

Weather conditions remain unfavorable in the south of France this Wednesday. As a result, four departments are on orange alert for forest fires, indicating a high risk, according to Météo France .

These are Aude, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse.

The fire that broke out Monday near Narbonne continues to burn. The flames have spread across more than 2,000 hectares, according to authorities.

However, lockdown measures were lifted on Tuesday evening in several districts of Narbonne.

On BFMTV, Hérault Prefect François-Xavier Lauch described a "very complicated day" in his department, recording "eight fires since the beginning of the afternoon." Seven of these eight fires were "well contained," according to the prefect.

One of these fires "covered a total of 400 hectares, north of the A9 motorway, which we had to close." The prefect is pleased that there are "no casualties or damage to homes."

Hello everyone and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the violent fires raging in the south of France.

Yesterday, a fire swept through 700 hectares between Pennes-Mirabeau and Marseille, leading to the closure of Aix-Marseille Provence Airport, the fourth busiest airport in France in terms of passenger numbers, at midday.

During a visit to Marseille last night, Bruno Retailleau indicated that "the fire has not yet been contained," adding that "110 people were slightly injured."