The fire which has ravaged 650 hectares since Thursday in the Cévennes
"can no longer progress"
, but it remains under close surveillance with, however, a lightened device from the night of Saturday to Sunday, after a day marked by a single resumption of fire .
“At this point the fire is set. It is considered that he can no longer progress. We have therefore passed the critical phase”
, announced on Saturday morning Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Agrinier, communication officer for the Gard firefighters, by reducing the device mobilized to 520 and 150 vehicles
“for the day in order to continue the treatment of several kilometers of edges”
.
Firefighters control a fire near Bessèges, in the Cévennes national park, on July 7, 2022. SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP
On Saturday evening, Commander Jérôme Jallet announced to AFP a new reduction in the system, with the maintenance of some 350 firefighters on the ground.
"We only had one resumption of fire today, and a few hot spots which were quickly dealt with"
, he justified.
The fire has ravaged 650 hectares since Thursday in the Cévennes.
SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP
But if
"the outbreaks have decreased in intensity, the weather conditions remain worrying in the area"
, insisted this Gard firefighter, recalling that temperatures around 40 degrees with gusts of wind and unfavorable hydrometry were recorded during the day.
Read alsoClimate change exacerbates the risk of fires in France
"For the night, we are told 40 km / h of gusty winds, temperatures around 20 to 25 degrees and hydrometry (percentage of humidity in the air) still low, 30%, which remains critical even if we have reached 13% in the afternoon"
, indicated Commander Jallet:
"As long as there are hot spots and we are not sure of the weather conditions, the wind, that there is swings of fire, we cannot say that the fire is under control”,
he insisted.
A firefighter in the night, torch in hand.
SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP
3000 liters of water airlifted
Leaving the hamlet of Bordezac around 5 p.m. Thursday, this disaster mobilized up to 950 men, but there were no casualties.
On Saturday, the firefighters had air support, in particular to
"deal with inaccessible hot spots with surgical strikes from helicopters"
, according to the expression of Lieutenant-Colonel Agrinier.
A Canadair unloads water above the Cévennes National Park, near Bessèges, July 8, 2022. SYLVAIN THOMAS / AFP
During the day, the firefighters also used a Heliskid, a 3,000 liter water tank that can be lifted by helicopter into an area inaccessible to vehicles.
Equipped with a motor to send pressure into the pipes, this unique tool in France, which only the Gard firefighters have, has thus enabled them to deal as closely as possible with certain hot spots that are difficult to access.
In addition to this fire, the Gard department, hit daily by numerous fire starts - more than 30 on Friday, 28 on Thursday - was generally placed under close surveillance.
A fire also broke out on the outskirts of Alès on Saturday evening around 10:30 p.m., according to
Midi Libre
.
The start of fire was triggered by
"several firecrackers"
fired at the end of the evening according to the sub-prefect of Alès quoted by BFMTV.
“Fire fixed.
No casualties.
No homes affected
,” Gard firefighters said on Twitter around 12:30 a.m. Sunday.
On Saturday, in Saint-Christol-lès-Alès, the massive commitment of three forest fire intervention groups supported by a water bomber helicopter saved a campsite and a business park from leisure activities threatened by a plant fire outbreak and to limit the disaster to 5,000 m2.
Read alsoGénérac, martyred city marked by the fire of incivility
Thursday, another fire had ravaged 230 hectares towards the town of Générac, in the south of the department.
This same town had been affected by a serious fire in August 2019, which had burned 800 hectares and caused the death of the pilot of a water bomber plane in an accident.
Firefighters extinguish a burning house in Arles, July 7, 2022. Pompiers13 / REUTERS
Now fixed, the fire in the Cévennes is fortunately far from the approximately 5,000 hectares devoured by fire in 1985 a few kilometers away, towards the town of Portes.
This year, the biggest fires in France affected the military camp of Canjuers (Var) at the end of June, with 1800 hectares burned, and the Pyrénées-Orientales, also at the end of June, with 1250 hectares gone up in smoke.
Overall, the Directorate General for Civil Security recommended great caution until Sunday throughout
“the Mediterranean area”, “due to a very high danger of fires”
.
