“At 8:30 pm, the fire is now fixed. It has traveled 130 ha”said the prefect of Var Simon Babre on X.
The fire broke out shortly before 12:30 p.m. on the sides of Petit Bessillon, a very popular hikers located near the perched village of Pontevèswhere those 760 inhabitants were called to confine themselves. Some 340 firefightersincluding reinforcements from Ile-de-France, have been mobilized, assisted by 5 Canadians, including 2 from Corsica, 5 water bomber helicopters, 2 Dash and 125 terrestrial vehicles. Reinforcements from the gendarmerie and the National Forest Office (ONF) are also present on site.
Four firefighters were slightly injured during their fight against fire.
“The conditions of intervention are particularly difficult because one is in a relief with 400 meters of elevation and areas difficult to access“Said the prefect of Var.
“No dwelling is threatened”
“The situation has calmed down but the fire is still not controlled“Said a firefighter spokesperson shortly after 7:00 p.m..”Air resources will be brought back to the ground with the arrival of the night, but we will keep a team of drones“He added.
“Thirty inhabitants have been evacuated preventively by the municipality in Pontevès“Said the prefect of Var on X. “No house is threatened“ However, the firefighters said.
After several days of heat wave, orange vigilance is expected to be lifted on Tuesday at 6:00 am in the Var, according to Météo-France, which provides thunderstorms at the end of the morning. Most massifs in the department, very wooded, were classified at risk of severe fire on Monday and will remain so on Tuesday, according to the prefecture.
According to the prefect, extreme vigilance is required for the next few days with uncertain weather conditions, with a risk of thunderstorms and gusts. “The action of the firefighters tonight and the coming days will be decisive to really circumscribe the risk”, analyzes Simon Babre.
