On Monday, at the beginning of the afternoon, a column of smoke amounted above the Mennes valley, on the flanks of Petit Bessillon.
The emergency services quickly initiated significant resources: 125 terrestrial devices, ten command vehicles and an advanced command post.
Since the air, five Canadair (including two from Corsica), two dash and five water bombers have multiplied the drops, while the inhabitants of the perched village of Pontevès – about 760 souls – were invited to confine themselves as a precaution.
Unlike initial information, no evacuation was ultimately necessary.
At the height of the mobilization, nearly 340 firefighters, including around forty from Île-de-France, were engaged.
They were supported by the national gendarmerie and the National Forest Office, mobilized to secure the sector.
The conditions of intervention were particularly difficult due to the accidental relief: the fire soldiers had to face 400 meters of elevation and areas very difficult to access.
Due to the nightfall, the air resources have been withdrawn. The firefighters then had to bring their pipes to the ridges, belt the fire and contain it on the heights and summits of the massif.
Sinister fixed in the evening
In the afternoon, the fire had already traveled 70 hectares. But the rapid propagation of the flames, fueled by the drought and the heat wave of the last days, finally brought the balance sheet at 130 hectares of forest and destroyed garrigues.
At 8 p.m., the prefect of Var, Simon Babre, announced that the disaster was fixed, after several hours of fierce struggle. Four firefighters were slightly injured in operations. They were taken care of by the SDIS health and medical rescue service.
According to the first elements, the fire could be linked to a brooding fire for several days: it would have been caused last Thursday by an impact of lightning during a thunderstorm.
Météo-France also announced the passage of the Var in yellow alert this Tuesday morning, with thunderstorms expected at the end of the morning.
But the authorities call for extreme vigilance for the coming days, due to uncertain weather conditions, with a risk of thunderstorm and gusts that can complicate the situation.
“The action of the firefighters on the coming days will be decisive to really circumscribe the risk”said the prefect of Var, Simon Babre, Monday evening.