Geline Salac

Hundreds flee as wildfire rips through southern France

Article (news)

wildfire

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y2U9a9RVO28?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>COTIGNAC, France - A fast-moving wildfire erupted Tuesday in southern France, forcing hundreds out of their homes as nearly 1,000 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battled to stop the blaze.</p><p>The fire swept through wooded hills in the Var region, burning 1,700 hectares (4,200 acres) in just a few hours and prompting the evacuation of nearly 400 people, the area&#x27;s top official said.</p><p>&quot;The fire is moving down Gros Bessillon mountain at a very fast speed, which was not at all anticipated given the climatic conditions and weakening wind,&quot; said Simon Barbre, prefect for the region located between Marseille and Nice.</p><p>He said evacuations took place around the villages of Cotignac, Montfort-sur-Argens and Correns. Many of those moved to safety came from Ponteves, where the fire started, and the nearby village of Sillans-la-Cascade.</p><p>Very dry conditions in the area have caused an extreme forest-fire risk, according to the French weather service Meteo-France.</p><p>Barbre said air crews were racing to lay down fire-retardant barriers ahead of the advancing flames.</p><p>An AFP journalist near Cotignac saw a huge plume of grey smoke billowing behind a ridge engulfed in flames.</p><p>&quot;This fire is the absolute priority of the whole area right now,&quot; said Var fire chief Eric Grohin, adding that between 900 and 950 firefighters were deployed on the ground.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Major disaster&#x27; -</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>&quot;It&#x27;s grown enormously, it&#x27;s spreading to other villages,&quot; said Isabelle Scarica, one of around 50 volunteers in Ponteves preparing sandwiches for firefighters.</p><p>She said the situation was &quot;a major disaster&quot;.</p><p>One fire engine was damaged and four firefighters and two residents of Ponteves suffered minor smoke inhalation, according to local authorities.</p><p>Before aircraft were grounded for the night, firefighting crews carried out more than 100 water and retardant drops using eight Canadair water bombers, four-water-dropping helicopters and two Dash aircraft.</p><p>Fuelled by repeated heatwaves and drought, the 2026 wildfire season began earlier than usual, and firefighters have been battling near-daily outbreaks across France in recent weeks.</p><p>Another major blaze burned 200 hectares and destroyed homes in the Var region between Sunday and Monday near Les Arcs-sur-Argens.</p><p>Nearly 40,000 hectares have burned in France since the start of the year, &quot;far more than was burned during the whole of last year&quot;, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.</p><p>Wildfires were also active elsewhere in France.</p><p>In the Alps, a lightning-sparked blaze that began five days ago had burned 130 hectares in a remote area of the Ecrins mountain range.</p><p>On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, firefighters were still battling a blaze near Corte after nine days.</p><p>vk-tgg/smk/ybl/rh/ach</p>

<p>A fast-moving wildfire erupted Tuesday in southern France, forcing hundreds out of their homes as nearly 1,000 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battled to stop the blaze.</p>

A fast-moving wildfire erupted Tuesday in southern France, forcing hundreds out of their homes as nearly 1,000 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battled to stop the blaze.