More wildfires broke out across southern France on Saturday, with a major new blaze in the Pyrénées-Orientales becoming the most serious incident of the weekend.
The fire near Trévillach spread rapidly on Saturday evening destroying almost 1,000 hectares, while firefighters also tackled blazes in Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône, Indre and elsewhere.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he was "deeply concerned" by the early start to the season, noting that dozens of fires have already broken out simultaneously across mainland France in recent days.
Nearly 7,000 wildfire outbreaks have been recorded in France since the start of the fire season, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on July 2.
Authorities warn that the country's fire season has started around a month earlier than usual.
Pyrénées-Orientales: The largest active fire is burning near Trévillach, where more than 930 hectares had burned by Sunday morning after the blaze spread within just a few hours on Saturday. Around 580 firefighters, backed by aircraft, have been deployed. The fire is 35km west of Perpignan, advancing towards Montalba-le-Château, Tarerach and Rodès, although no evacuation has been ordered. Residents of some isolated properties have instead been asked to gather at local town halls as a precaution. On Sunday morning Pyrénées-Orientales Prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe said the fire was “no longer spreading freely. It has lost its intensity”.
Gard: A wildfire near Rochefort-du-Gard, sparked by a burning lorry on the A9 motorway, has now been brought under control after burning 40 hectares. Three houses suffered damage and around 200 firefighters, supported by Canadair aircraft and Dash water bombers, were deployed. The A9 was temporarily closed in both directions during the incident.
Drôme: Firefighters continue to monitor a blaze near Die, where approximately 115 hectares have burned in difficult mountainous terrain. Authorities warned it may take several more days before the fire is fully extinguished because of challenging access.
Smaller fires on Saturday were also reported in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhône), Mosnay (Indre), Évry-Courcouronnes (Essonne), and along the A51 motorway in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Most were quickly contained.
High fire risk remains
Six Mediterranean departments remain on red alert for an "extreme" forest fire risk: Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Hérault, Gard, Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse.
Météo-France said exceptionally dry soils, almost two months without significant rainfall, low humidity and strong Mistral and Tramontane winds continue to create conditions highly favourable to rapid fire spread.
Sunday also brings an orange heatwave alert for seven southern departments, with high temperatures expected to further dry vegetation.
The latest incidents follow major fires earlier this week around Canet-en-Roussillon and Pouzols-Minervois, where more than 1,800 hectares burned and thousands of people were evacuated.
While those fires have now been brought under control, hundreds of firefighters remain on site to prevent flare-ups.
For real-time information on ongoing wildfires in France visit the website of monitoring service feuxdeforet.fr
