Three departments in the South-East on red alert for forest fires on Wednesday

Météo-France has placed three departments in the South-East on red alert for forest fires for Wednesday, Bouches-du-Rhône , Var and Vaucluse, due to a "very high risk" of fires.

Part of the Gard massifs, bordering Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse, is also classified as fire red, the Prefecture announced. For Thursday, only Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse will still be in red, according to Météo France .

Despite a drop in temperatures, the return of the Mistral and Tramontane winds in the Mediterranean, with gusts expected around 50-60 km/h, will increase the risk of forest fires in the region on Wednesday, Météo-France said in a press release.

In addition to these three departments in red, six departments in the South, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Ardèche, Aude, Drôme, Gard and Hérault, will be on orange alert on Wednesday, compared to ten on Tuesday, including seven in Centre-Val-de-Loire.

The Aude and Bouches-du-Rhône departments were hit by major fires last week. In Marseille, where the fire had spread to the north of the city, the blaze caused several dozen minor injuries , mainly from smoke inhalation, and damaged nearly 90 homes, the majority of which were rendered uninhabitable.

"The heatwave that hit the country from June 19 to July 4 accentuated the dryness of the soil and weakened the vegetation," with, after the spring rains, "the development of many herbaceous plants that dried out following a historically very hot and dry month of June," the meteorological services emphasize.

"This dry vegetation condition, conducive to fire outbreaks, is highly unusual for early July, similar to remarkable years like 2017," adds Météo-France. Due to these fire risks, the prefects of the affected departments have issued "strict bans" on access to many of the region's mountain ranges.

In Bouches-du-Rhône, a large force is planned in advance, with 570 firefighters pre-positioned around 30 strategic points, 500 others available for deployment in barracks and the expected reinforcement of three columns from other departments.

The same is true in the Var region, with 220 firefighters pre-positioned, five water-bombing helicopters, four of which are rented, two Canadairs pre-positioned in Hyères, and two columns from elsewhere. In the Vaucluse region, 54 firefighters supported by 15 vehicles will also be pre-positioned, with an additional water-bombing helicopter available.