A fire broke out Wednesday afternoon on the heights of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), near the airport of the Phocaean city, preventing for the moment the planes to land there, reported 20 Minutes.
The fire broke out around 16:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon on the Estaque sector near Pennes-Mirabeau, says 20 Minutes. 60 firefighters and 30 firefighters from the Bouches-du-Rhône were mobilized. They are assisted by three helicopters and a plane.
#intervention
The firefighters intervene for a vegetation fire in the La Nerthe sector. ⚠️ Avoid the area ⚠️
Leave access to emergency services from L'Estaque to La Nerthe. pic.twitter.com/BxH0LFa92f
— Marins-Pompiers de Marseille (@MarinsPompiers) July 26, 2023
The fire prevented planes from landing at Marseille airport, which is near the disaster, said a spokeswoman to the daily, adding that a flight had already had to be diverted to Montpellier airport (Hérault).
"High risk"
After being placed Tuesday in red vigilance by the Forest Weather - a first in France -, the Bouches-du-Rhône had been downgraded to orange vigilance Wednesday, corresponding to a "high" risk. "The fire risk remains high this Wednesday in the Bouches-du-Rhône," warned the prefecture in a tweet.
Two fires had broken out Tuesday in this department, in Arles and Velaux. Fixed in the evening, after significant resources had been mobilized by the firefighters, they had traveled respectively 17 and 3 ha.