“An important start of the fire” took place late Tuesday afternoon in Ribaute, in Aude, a department in red vigilance with forest fires. “The evolution of fire is very rapid,” wrote the prefecture in a press release.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters were mobilized with air means with 130 men in reinforcement. Nine Canadair and Five Dash are on the scene. Some 4,000 hectares had been traveled in the early evening. Two departmental roads have been closed, said the prefecture.
Evacuations begin
Lagrasse and Fabrezan campsites have been evacuated preventively, as well as thirty houses in Tourisan, a nearby village. The village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse was hit and houses were burned. According to the prefecture, two people were injured, “including a person in absolute, seriously burned”
“The evolution of the fire is very unfavorable. The populations are asked to remain confined within their homes unless order of evacuation given by the firefighters, “insists the prefecture in a press release. The prefect of Aude called for caution and to learn via official sources, without relaying “false information”.
The Aude department was put in red vigilance at forest fires on Tuesday, with a “very high” risk of fire, while an episode of heat moved to the southwest of France, according to Météo-France.
