The gigantic fire on Tuesday in the Corbières massif was “controlled” on Sunday by the 1,300 firefighters. This means that the most important flames have been extinguished and that the fire is under control. The forces of fighting fire nevertheless remain mobilized and in maximum alert, to avoid reactivations, as there were several during the day.
“Fire is now under control. Which still involves maintaining mobilization. The mobilization must be total, it is a question of holding and not wearing, “said Amélie Trioux, director of cabinet of the prefect of Aude, during a press point in Lézignan-Corbières.
Colonel Michaël Sabot, assistant operations commander, said that the challenge was now to “drown the hot spots”, “treat the 90 km of edges”, “an active surveillance period”. With scorching temperatures, little humidity, a hot and dry wind blowing at 50 km/h, Sunday was “complicated”, in the words of the prefect of Aude in the morning.
Ten household reactivations
On Sunday, “we had ten household reactivations which were processed by (firefighters) on the ground and the helicopters of water bombers, which carried out 22 drops. The Massive Aeroterrestre attack strategy continued all day, “said Colonel Sabot.
Scorching temperatures will remain in the start of the week. “With the temperatures that are around 40 ° C, there are major risks of fire,” points out Hervé Baro, vice-president of the Aude Departmental Council. On Sunday, a hot wind blew on the Corbières, making the air burning, noted an AFP journalist.
The prefect of Aude prohibited access to the mountain ranges of the department until August 17. “Because any human intervention outside the so -called classic roads is a risk,” says Hervé Baro.
Fire stigma
In an usually green landscape of maquis and pine forests, burned houses, large calcined expanses, vines partly destroyed by flames, testify to the violence of the worst fire over the Mediterranean periphery for half a century.
On the hills of Ribaute, a place of departure of the fire, the stigmas of the fire always mark the still ash landscape, while the circulation of firefighters in this area is intensifying over the afternoon.
Electricity restored in all homes
The civil security report reports 16,000 hectares traveled, including 13,000 burned. The reactivations Sunday occurred on the edges of this area, which extends over 30 km from the west to the Mediterranean. The fire is contained in an area where the population density is low, and has not reached the France-Spain A9 highway, closed as a precaution, before reopen on Wednesday.
The prefecture calls on tourists and inhabitants to “avoid any external activity which can present a risk, such as barbecues, it is necessary to redouble vigilance”, in the words of the prefect. Electricity has been restored in all homes. If the network is always damaged, generators provide food.
Difficult access
Thanks to bulldozers, 10 km of tracks were traced in the Corbières massif to open new access and facilitate the intervention of firefighters in steep areas, where the vegetation is dense.
Météo-France placed the Aude on Monday in a heat wave, with temperatures provided between 38 and 40 ° C and a wind blowing in gusts in the Corbières massif.
Thirty-six houses were destroyed, others damaged, and more than twenty agricultural hangars burned, out of the 3,000 bundles which were defended by the firefighters, according to the Aude prefecture.
A 65 -year -old woman died in her house, while a resident was seriously burned. Four other people were slightly injured. In the newspaper L’Indépendant, the daughter of the deceased victim said that her mother had not been invited to evacuate her accommodation, as the authorities claim. An investigation into this death is underway.
In the ranks of firefighters, 19 were injured, one of which has undergone a head trauma. According to the first elements of the investigation, the fire started on the side of a road. Investigations are underway to determine the causes of the fire and to establish any responsibilities.
