A forest fire in the French department of Var has already destroyed 600 hectares of land on Tuesday. This is the first major fire of the year in our southern neighbors. There were no casualties.
By 8 p.m. the fire had spread over 600 hectares, an area the size of Gibraltar. The flames are now slowly moving along the ridges, the prefect of the department, Philippe Mahé, said at X.
The fire broke out in the municipality of Vidauban around 3 p.m. and spread quickly thanks to strong winds. More than two hundred firefighters have been deployed, as well as three fire-fighting aircraft and a helicopter. Hundreds of firefighters from other departments will come to the aid of their colleagues. Four villages have been evacuated as a precaution and two major roads have been closed.
After a particularly wet month of March, less rain fell than normal in the region in April and May. The prefecture warned at the end of May that the onset of summer weather could lead to soil dehydration.
In August 2021, a fire destroyed 7,000 hectares near Saint-Tropez. Two people were killed and ten thousand others had to be evacuated.