The smoke was visible for miles around.
A fire broke out around 1:15 p.m. at the entrance to the Espiguette municipal campsite in Grau-du-Roi, a Camargue seaside resort in Gard.
It got bigger and bigger.
If in its situation report of 4:30 p.m., the prefecture indicated that the fire "is limited to this area but smoke is still visible".
She warns that "because of the wind which has turned, the risk of resumption of fire remains present in particular near the shooting range, located near the campsite".
Apart from a firefighter who suffered heat stroke, according to the prefecture, no injuries were to be deplored.
The desolation over several hundred m²
According to France 3 Occitanie, some 3,000 holidaymakers were at the very beginning of the afternoon in this campsite with 2,028 pitches when the fire broke out, four times less than this weekend.
“The municipal police have evacuated holidaymakers from nearby neighborhoods exposed to the direction of the wind,” Mayor Robert Crauste told Midi Libre.
The 500 residents of bungalows located around had to be moved, according to France 3. The campsite, one of the largest in Europe with its 42 hectares, welcomes up to 10,000 holidaymakers at the height of summer.
In part of the campsite, it is “desolation over several hundred m²” according to the channel, with supporting video.
#fire at Grau-du-Roi (Gard): several dozen bungalows were completely destroyed by the flames at the Espiguette campsite.
No injuries to deplore but 500 holidaymakers were moved.
#Miscellaneous pic.twitter.com/2dJp6EGPI8
– France 3 Occitanie (@F3OccitanieLR) June 13, 2022
At 3:15 p.m., the Gard prefecture reported 52 bungalows affected.
They were in a well-defined area.
Nine, they had never been occupied before, according to France 3. The mayor later mentioned 64 bungalows destroyed on BFMTV.
[#fire] Point of situation n ° 3 at 4:30 p.m.
✅ fire limited but smoke still visible
✅ due to the wind, risk of recovery
✅ town hall has activated the municipal safeguard plan
✅ medico-psychological emergency cell by the Red Cross du Gard pic.twitter.com/Rml3bU4eys
– Prefect of Gard (@Prefet30) June 13, 2022
To extinguish the fire, the workforce had risen to 100 firefighters and around twenty gendarmes mobilized, as well as 25 municipal police officers, a helicopter and 36 vehicles, according to the prefecture.
Reinforcements from neighboring departments had been requested.
🚒 Fire at the #Espiguette campsite, at #GrauduRoi: the fire is fixed, but the presence of a strong wind increases the risk of flames resuming.
Update on the situation ➡️ https://t.co/mauWZRL5Dv pic.twitter.com/U6oPS4EooR
– Midi Libre (@Midilibre) June 13, 2022
The sports hall has been made available to holidaymakers, according to Midi Libre.
A medico-psychological emergency unit was to be set up by the Gard Red Cross