The big fire which has already burned more than 600 hectares of vegetation since Thursday evening in the north of Gard "is still active" Friday morning, according to firefighters.
They are preparing for a new day of struggle with 900 men and women on site.
The fire will last "several days", fanned by a very strong wind, "absolute enemy" of the firefighters.
“This fire has not been settled at all, we have untreated edges because they are inaccessible and which progress freely, so we are going there meter after meter, it is a long-term job”, described to AFP the lieutenant- Colonel Eric Agrinier.
During the night the fire "slowed down a bit", according to Éric Agrinier, and the situation improved in the villages of Bordezac, where the fire started on Thursday, and Bessèges, "both strongly threatened on Thursday".
Despite the violence of the flames which burned hundreds of hectares in just a few hours, "only a garage was damaged, and a mazet (Editor's note: small rural construction)", welcomed Mr. Agrinier.
But the strong wind which continued to blow on Friday, with announced gusts of 60 to 80 km / h, worried the firefighters: “It is our absolute enemy, because we have other fire starts, this night it took the exit of Nîmes, along the A9".
“It is continuing, but the fire is progressing more slowly and fortunately no longer threatens homes,” a spokesperson for the Gard firefighters told AFP by telephone early Friday morning, adding that many edges of the fire remain. not accessible”.
“The population was able to be evacuated and confined”
Barely dawn on Friday, the air resources resumed the drops, with two Milan engaged from 6:00 a.m., said the same source.
The fire broke out around 5:00 p.m. Thursday in the hamlet of Bordezac, on the edge of the Ardèche, north of Alès.
The inhabitants of this hamlet as well as a few others from Bessèges had to be evacuated Thursday evening, and a hundred people were relocated according to the prefecture.
“The situation has changed a little overnight, the firefighters are still hard at work.
There is always a strong wind in the area.
According to the firefighters, depending on the wind in the area, control will not be easy.
It is necessary to avoid fire starts in the next few days on the massifs.
We are in a very wooded region of the Cévennes.
No homes would have been affected, which is a miracle and a relief.
The population was able to be evacuated and confined ”, confirmed to France info the mayor of Bordezac Didier Cayron.
Commune of Bordezac fire: 575 hectares of vegetation destroyed, 500 firefighters are deployed on this disaster including 150 firefighters from Gard and 8 extra-departmental columns come in reinforcement.
Preventive evacuations have been carried out, the fire is still evolving.
@Prefet30 pic.twitter.com/TOIfPcjwJi
– Gard Firefighters (@pompiersdugard) July 7, 2022
Gard firefighters were quickly joined by columns from other departments, to reach a total of 700 firefighters and rescuers on Thursday, according to a tweet from civil security, which adds the intervention of 7 Canadair, 3 Dash, 2 Beech as well as the Dragon 131. This Friday, the figure of 900 is mentioned.
🔥🌳 #FeuDeForêt in Bordezac (30): more than 700 firefighters and 180 rescuers are engaged in support of the 150 @pompiersdugard already mobilized.
The 7 #Canadair, 3 #Dash, 2 #Beech as well as the #Dragon 131 carried out coordination and fire attack operations.
pic.twitter.com/aZRsmFJTER
– Civil Security (@SecCivileFrance) July 7, 2022
At midnight Thursday, firefighters reported "thousands of hectares at risk" in this heavily wooded area, the fire being fanned by extreme weather conditions: a violent wind and very dry trees.
35 departures in the Bouches-du-Rhône
Questioned by AFP, the sub-prefect of Alès, Jean Rampon, feared Thursday evening "a spectacle of desolation" in the morning, and feared an overflow of fire on the other bank of the Cèze, "where 10,000 ha had burnt in 198”.
Thursday, multiple other fires also started in the Bouches-du-Rhône, fortunately most were fixed before nightfall.
According to France Info, the firefighters had to deal with no less than 35 fire starts during the day.
In Arles (Bouches-du-Rhône), a fire started from reeds and brush around noon.
During the night "a violent forest fire" started last night in Saint-Mitre-Les-Remparts, north of Martigues, the firefighters said.
The day dawns on #StMitreLesRemparts.
The #Pompiers13 always mobilized supported by our colleagues @MarinsPompiers and the 60 #Firefighters of the column #SERA1 @SecCivileFrance pic.twitter.com/O0r5FOPRD3
– Firefighters 13 (@Firefighters_13) July 8, 2022
The months of May and June were the driest on record – total rainfall of less than 20 mm over a large part of the territory – and the hottest – with an average temperature of 17.8°C, i.e. one degree higher for the month of May than the previous record of 2011. Result: we have recorded record operational activity since the beginning of the year.
