The Var remains energized.
Fanned by a capricious wind all day long, the fire that has ravaged the Maures massif and the hinterland of Saint-Tropez since Monday spread northwards on Wednesday, further adding to a dramatic toll with now two confirmed deaths.
đĽSince Monday, major #FeuxDeForet have been raging in the South of France.
đ¨đŠâđ Our forces are fully mobilized to ensure your safety.
In total, these are:
â of 1900 firefighters engaged
1ď¸âŁ2ď¸âŁ Canadair
5ď¸âŁ Dash and 1ď¸âŁ Dragon of the @SecCivileFrance
1ď¸âŁ Puma pic.twitter.com/EdsviL2cGu
- Ministry of the Interior (@Interieur_Gouv) August 18, 2021
A risk of fire always "very severe"
The risk of fire is still "very severe" Thursday: access to all forest areas remains prohibited.
The A57 motorway is open, but several departmental roads are closed.
The road network could gradually reopen.
"The fire is less violent and its progression is slowed down but the risks of recovery are still present," said the prefecture this Thursday morning.
The Var firefighters however congratulated themselves Wednesday evening on the total cessation of the wind and the falling temperatures: "We must remain humble and careful, but we must take the opportunity to hurt this fire," said Commander Florent Dossetti to AFP, scalded by the numerous occasions of the blaze during the day.
The water drops resumed at sunrise Thursday morning.
# ForestFires |
Thursday, August 19, all forest areas remain at risk of fire đĽ VERY SEVERE in the #Var â
Access to all areas is strictly prohibited
â 18 or 112 to report a fire
âš Map of the areas https: // t .co / 7rFufjKusd pic.twitter.com/zeQzaCTaIW
- Prefect of Var (@ Prefet83) August 18, 2021
After two days without human casualties, the disaster left its first two dead on Wednesday, two charred bodies found in a house hit by flames, in the town of Grimaud, in the heart of the Massif des Maures.
According to a provisional report, 7 firefighters were slightly injured, and 19 people poisoned.
"Goodbye little sister"
According to several relatives of a young woman missing since Monday evening when she was staying in a lodging in Grimaud, the second victim would be this 32-year-old Parisian tourist.
Contacted by AFP on Facebook, a young woman close to the disappeared confirmed Wednesday evening on the social network the death of her friend.
This death was also confirmed by his brother, in a post titled "goodbye little sister".
Contacted by AFP, the Draguignan prosecutor, Patrice Camberou, could not confirm this information, the body not yet having been formally identified: "But this hypothesis is very, very strongly plausible," he said. however declared.
Read alsoFire in the Var: "A phenomenon as we can know in California or Australia"
In three days, since the start of the fire on Monday around 5:45 p.m., next to a motorway rest area on the A57, north of Toulon, 7,100 ha of forest, vines and scrubland have now been burnt.
This week was marked by two other fires in France: in Aude, with fires that spread over nearly 90 ha in all, and in Vaucluse, where 227 firefighters were to stay overnight to monitor an evolving situation. favorably according to La Provence.
