France wildfire update July 22: major new blaze in Var

A major wildfire in the Var continues to burn this morning after rapidly sweeping through 2,550 hectares of land yesterday and overnight.

The blaze, which started around midday on Tuesday near Pontevès and quickly spread south-east into neighbouring communes including Cotignac and Correns.

The fire has been 'contained' meaning it is not spreading to new areas said the Var prefecture in an update this morning, but there are several hot points within the sector where fires continue to burn.

In a second update the prefecture banned activities including sports and cultural events in forested areas, and barbecues across the entire department.

Four people have been injured so far due to the fire - two firefighters and two civilians - with 10 homes destroyed and a further 50 damaged due to the blaze, it added.

Drivers have been urged to stay clear of roads in the area to prevent blocking firefighters from accessing the fire.

The fire spread suddenly, leading to 400 evacuations yesterday afternoon, and 2,300 homes remained without electricity overnight. As of midday, around 380 remain without power.

Smoke from the fire could be seen throughout most of the Var department yesterday, including on the Giens peninsula well over 60km from its origin.

Around 900 firefighters continue to tackle the blaze this morning,  and several local roads including the RD560, RD60, RD13, RD22, RD222, EV8, RD32 and RD45 are closed.

Elsewhere, two professional firefighters aged 34 have died in Gironde while tackling a blaze less than two kilometres from Bordeaux-Mérignac airport on Tuesday afternoon.

The blaze began in shrubbery and quickly spread through nearby wooded areas with pine trees, with 120 firefighters and two vehicles scrambled to tackle the fire.

The two deceased firefighters were stuck in a vehicle that became engulfed by flames reaching up to 30 metres in the air around them and spreading between the trees. The vehicle had driven close to the origin of the fire to stop it spreading to the airport.

The fire was put out, but not before it spread across 26 hectares of land.

"All our efforts and attention are focused on supporting the families of our comrades who died in the line of duty, as well as the entire departmental fire service," said head of  Gironde's fire and rescue service Marc Vermeulen following the incident.

"Our thoughts are with their families, partners, and friends, and we stand in solidarity with all the firefighters in the department who are fighting these blazes inch by inch," he added. 

An official investigation into the incident has been launched to determine how the firefighters became trapped in their vehicles and the origin of the fire.

Some suspect it was caused by human activity - such as a discarded cigarette butt - due to the urban location of the blaze's origin near a commercial centre.

Firefighters in the Deux-Sèvres have put out six blazes today, announced the prefecture, with three of these  'likely' caused by human activity, it added.

Elsewhere, more fires continue in Corsica, including one in the mountains at Corte that continues to burn. It was previously believed that the fire had been contained but it now has begun to spread again. Between this and a blaze at Albertacce - now contained - more than 640 hectares of land has been burned on the island.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has asked all prefectures to maintain "absolute vigilance and mobilisation" against forest fires, warning that the risk of further blazes is not yet over. 

You can see a map of active forest fires on the maps below, accurate to 08:00 on Wednesday morning.

Red indicates ongoing fires, orange fires that have been reported but not confirmed, and black fires that have recently been put out.

For live information about ongoing forest fires in France, visit the feuxdeforet.fr website and use the interactive map.

The blazes continue a grim week of firefighting statistics across France.

A fire in Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) on Monday was quickly put out but saw 2,000 people evacuated from campsites and homes due to the initial force of the blaze. A blaze in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) was also put out but burned 10 hectares of land.

A major fire in the Var that began on Sunday and burned around 200 hectares was declared 'fixé' on Monday evening, the prefecture announced.

It completely destroyed four houses - damaging a further 10 - and around 15 vehicles in the woodlands between Les Arcs and Taradeau, with around 100 buildings saved in the area by firefighters.

In recent weeks authorities have continually pointed out that the majority of fires in France start due to human activity. More than 110 arrests have been made in relation to blazes this summer, the Interior Ministry announced in an update on Monday (July 20).

More fires on the way? 

Prefectures were advised by Mr Nuñez to be on guard for more fires appearing this week due to "particularly unfavourable weather conditions forecast for the coming days."

State forecaster Météo France has placed 23 departments on a heightened risk for forest fires on Wednesday, with three – Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, and Gard – on the highest possible red-tier alert. 

This means the risk of blazes are at their highest, due to a combination of high temperatures (the south continues to face heatwave alerts), strong winds, and dried-out vegetation. 

Despite cooler weather in the west of France compared to last week, strong winds and dry shrubbery keeps risks high. 

On Thursday (July 23), the risk remains high, with 26 on heightened alert and Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse remaining on red-level alerts.

Note that the map only indicates the risk of fire, not the number of blazes in the area. Read more about the map in our article here.

Last week, French authorities confirmed that the country had already seen more damage from wildfires this summer than all of 2025 combined, despite the wildfire season lasting for several more weeks.