The Toulouse-Narbonne cut highway, a campsite and an evacuated abbey

Important forest fires started on Sunday, June 29, 2025 afternoon in Aude, where a sector of the Massif mountainous of the Corbières is still plagued by flames in the evening.

At least Seven fire starts have been counted for 16 hours over ten kilometers in the area of Bizanetaccording to the Aude fire and rescue center which reported 400 hectares traveled by the flames.

The A61 motorway cut in both directions due to the fire

The fire jumped the A61 Toulouse-Narbonne motorway, which had to be cut in both directions between Narbonne and Lezignan-Corbières, according to the prefecture of Aude.

A water distribution has been put in place for motorists blocked in traffic jams by scorching temperatures of the intense heat episode which strikes almost all of the country.

The following measures have been set up by Vinci Autoroutes:

• Mandatory outing Carcassonne-Est for heavy goods vehicles (n ° 24) in the direction of Narbonne
• Mandatory release Narbonne-Sud for all vehicles (n ° 38) in the direction of Toulouse
• Lézignan-Nord forbidden entry for all vehicles (n ° 25) in the direction of Narbonne
• Mandatory release Lézignan-Nord for all vehicles (n ° 25) towards Narbonne.

It is clearly recommended to avoid the sector.

The famous Fontfroide abbey evacuated

As a precaution, the Bizanet campsite and theFontfroide Abbey were evacuated, told AFP the director of cabinet of the prefect of Aude, Amélie Trioux, adding that fifty people were then at the campsite and 37 at the Abbey.

We know the origin of the first start of fire

“It was the sparks of the badly loose brake of a trailer wheel that caused these fire starts,” added Amélie Trioux to AFP.

According to another source, it is the still hot embers of a barbecue transported on this trailer that ignited the surrounding vegetation.

Three Canadair and 150 firefighters mobilized

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.

A huge plume of orange and black smoke stood out on the Fontfroide massif, Natura 2000 site and a sensitive area due to its major migration corridor forest and its difficult steep access, while two Canadair drew water from the Bages pond, AFP noted.

The risk of fire is very high in the Aude, due to the scorching temperatures coupled with the drought of the brush that pushed on the surface thanks to the significant rains in the spring.

with AFP

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