Several very important fires broke out in departments in the south of France this Saturday. That of Bouches-du-Rhône is currently fixed, but another in Aude and one in Hérault are still in the attack phase. Portions of the A9 and the A61 are therefore closed.
After the heat wave, the fires. Three very important fires are underway in several departments in the south of France, this Saturday, July 5.
The one who declared himself in the Bouches-du-Rhône this morning is fixed, but he has traveled more than 100 hectares. Two others are still in the attack phase, one in the Aude, at the level of Moux (after having declared himself in Douzens) and the other in Hérault, near Fabrègues.
Important means mobilized
In Hérault200 firefighters with 60 vehicles and 3 Canada are mobilized. “The fire is always active, it has traveled more than 100 hectares. It is a fairly complicated fire because we have swirling winds which force us to systematically review the device and to re-deploy the means,” said Colonel Jérôme Bonnafoux, chief of staff of the Hérault firefighters, on BFMTV.
In Aude, “7 Canadians and 1 Dash” are also mobilized, said the prefect, Christian Pouget, on BFMTV. The fire that broke out around Douzens “started from a car that caught fire on the aisle of the highway,” said the prefect on BFMTV. The rapid spread is “due to the gusts of winds that we know, at more than 110 km/h”. The fire traveled, at the end of the day, 400 hectares.
In total, “more than 14 planes and helicopters are mobilized on the two sites, that of the A9 and that of the A61,” said Paul Laurain, technical advisor for forest fires at the National Federation of Firefighters.
Closed highway portions
In order to guarantee the safety of users and to facilitate the work of help, several portions of highways are closed.
At 6.30 p.m., the A9 motorway was still cut in both directions between Orange and Narbonne, reports the manager on X. On the A61, traffic is extremely disturbed, in particular in the direction of Narbonne after the entrance Carcassonne-Est.
In addition, another fire broke out around 12 noon in Ennordres, in the Cher and has already traveled more than 110 hectares.
