Interior Minister Nuñez: Wildfire season noticeably more severe – Situation in Pyrénées-Orientales remains tense

Perpignan – 06.07.2026: French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez on Monday gave a grim assessment of the ongoing wildfire season. Since the start of the season, more than 11,000 hectares of land have burned, compared with around 5,700 hectares at the same time last year. He said conditions worsened again in the morning, citing strong winds, high temperatures and drought-stricken vegetation, making the work of emergency services considerably more difficult.

Particularly affected is the Pyrénées-Orientales département, where several major fires have broken out since the weekend. The Préfecture reported evacuations in affected communities and extensive closures to protect civilians and keep access routes clear for emergency services. The Tramontane – a dry northwesterly wind – is fanning the flames and causing fire fronts to spread rapidly. According to local sources, several thousand hectares in the département have been affected, with some fire hotspots still not considered fully secure.

Prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe is coordinating measures on site. Public access to forests and scrubland has been closed, and access routes are being controlled. For safety reasons, some sections along the route of the Tour de France in the département have been restricted for spectators in order to ensure emergency corridors. Civil protection services are operating continuously with Canadair firefighting aircraft, Dash aircraft and helicopters, supported by hundreds of firefighters and gendarmes deployed from several regions.

Nuñez stressed that the national wildfire strategy has been fully activated: strong prevention efforts, rapidly deployable ground forces, aerial support and reinforced interregional coordination. He also pointed to a difficult early season marked by early-onset and prolonged drought – a pattern that increases the burden on the southwest region, which is already vulnerable to climate impacts. Experts have warned for years that prolonged heatwaves, declining soil moisture and frequent strong winds increase fire risk and shorten the window for intervention.

Political representatives from affected regions are calling for additional equipment and permanent staffing increases. Under discussion are increased resources for water access points, firebreaks, forest maintenance and closer coordination between forest management, local authorities and civil protection. Spatial and building planning are also being brought into focus, for example through minimum distances between residential areas and risk zones or safer evacuation routes.

In the short term, the situation remains tense: Météo-France forecasts that temperatures will remain high in some parts of the south, with further strong winds expected. Incident commanders are maintaining evacuation orders and exclusion zones until fire hotspots are located and fire edges are cleared. Authorities are urging residents and visitors to keep access routes clear, strictly prohibit open fires and report any suspicious cases immediately.