After the megafires of Gironde, France continues to burn in certain departments, while firefighters fight daily to try to circumscribe these fires, in particular in Ardèche and in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
In the Hérault, an investigation was opened and a man arrested, after several fire starts since Tuesday.
We take stock.
1,200 hectares burned in Ardèche, four firefighters slightly injured
In Ardèche, the fire which has affected the Jastres plateau since Wednesday "is now fixed" and "the displaced have all been able to return to their homes", announced in a situation update the prefecture this Thursday morning, referring to more than 1,200 acres burned.
“A few edges still need to be treated and monitored.
400 firefighters are still mobilized on the ground today,” said the state services, adding that four firefighters were slightly injured.
❗️ Update on the #fire on the set of Jastres.
🔥 The #fire is now fixed but there are still a few edges to deal with and monitor.
400 firefighters are still mobilized on the ground today.
The burnt area is about 1200 ha.
pic.twitter.com/PfVQxBBsum
— Prefect of the Ardèche 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 (@Prefet07) July 28, 2022
At midnight, only one fire was still "active", according to Lieutenant-Colonel Jean-Michel Chalancon of the SDIS de l'Ardèche, around the town of Lussas, near Aubenas, on which five separate fire starts were recorded from Wednesday morning.
Three other fire starts took place within a radius of 10 km.
A man in his forties was arrested in Saint-Julien-du-Serre as he came out of a bush and got into his gray pick-up, seen near the lights in the Aubenas sector.
He was placed in a drunk tank at the end of the day.
At the start of the evening, the public prosecutor of Privas had, on Twitter, affirmed that the “criminal track” was “privileged”.
"GAV (police custody) in progress," he also tweeted, without immediately saying how many people were affected.
In the Verdon park, an evacuated campsite
On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the Verdon Regional Natural Park.
He has already covered 350 hectares in the commune of Rougonet and remains very active in areas that are difficult to access.
Consequence: some 400 people were preventively evacuated from a campsite in Castellane in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Wednesday evening, announced the prefecture.
The fire broke out on Tuesday in Rougon, a village perched on the heights of the Verdon Regional Natural Park.
Some 200 firefighters are mobilized to limit the progression of the fire which is still very active in areas difficult to access by land means.
Arrest and set fire in Hérault
On Wednesday, a fire that burned 800 hectares of vegetation near Montpellier could be fixed.
“No casualties are to be deplored and no homes have been affected by the fire”, announced at the end of the afternoon the prefecture of Hérault.
The fire had broken out the day before in two different places in a sparsely populated area, covered with holm oaks and vines.
The prefecture has lifted its crisis unit.
As a precaution, some 130 out of 500 inhabitants of the Aumelas sector had been preventively evacuated for the night.
On Wednesday, all "were able to return to their homes", according to the authorities.
A volunteer firefighter, suspected of being an arsonist, was taken into custody as part of an investigation into eight fires in the region.
According to our information, the suspect is deputy mayor of the town of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, professional forester-sapper and volunteer firefighter since the age of 19.