Forest lights in the south of France: cut highway, abbey evacuated
Important forest fires started on Sunday in Aude, in the south of France, causing the cut of a highway and the preventive evacuation of the famous Abbey of Fontfroide, we learned from the prefecture of the department and firefighters.
The fire ravaging part of the Corbières massif jumped the A61 Toulouse-Narbonne motorway, which had to be cut in both directions, according to the prefecture. A water distribution has been set up for motorists blocked in traffic jams by scorching temperatures.
As a precaution, a campsite and the Fontfroide abbey were evacuated, the Director of Cabinet of the Aude prefect, Amélie Trioux, said that fifty people were then at the campsite and 37 at the Abbey.
It was the sparks of the badly loose brake of a trailer wheel that caused these fire starts, added Ms. Trioux, recalling the safety instructions in this context of orange heat wave and very high risk of forest fire in the department.
More than 150 fire soldiers were deployed on the ground, helped by around forty trucks, three Canadair and two surveillance helicopters, according to the prefecture.
The risk of fire is very high in the Aude, due to the scorching temperatures coupled with the drought of the brush that prompted significant rains in the spring.
