Wildfires in the Alps and Corsica Challenge Emergency Crews

L’Argentiere-la-Bessee – 21.07.2026: Smoke continues to hang over the Bois Noir massif in the Hautes-Alpes. Between L’Argentiere-la-Bessee and Freissinieres, vegetation and woodland have been burning since the weekend in terrain that is barely accessible to fire engines. According to the prefecture, by around 5 p.m. on Monday, July 20, the fire had affected some 50 hectares and was moving across a plateau toward Freissinieres.

The situation is dangerous for more than just the flames. The fire is burning at the foot of and along a steep rock face; heat and unstable ground increase the risk of rockfall. The RD 138A between Champcella and L’Argentiere-la-Bessee was therefore closed. Access in the Vallon du Fournel is also restricted so that firefighters and emergency services can pass without obstruction.

According to the official situation report, 40 firefighters, a unit specialized in difficult terrain and two light firefighting helicopters were deployed. A Dash firefighting aircraft was expected to create a barrier against further spread using fire retardant. The municipality of L’Argentiere-la-Bessee also had an access route built with construction machinery so crews could get closer to the source of the fire.

As a precaution, eleven residents of the hamlet of Le Plan were brought to safety on Monday evening. It was not the immediate proximity of the flames, but the danger of falling rock blocks that prompted the decision. The Bois Noir forest area remains closed to hikers, climbers, mountain bikers and other recreational users. The silver mines of L’Argentiere-la-Bessee have also temporarily suspended their cultural operations.

In Haute-Corse, emergency crews are simultaneously battling several fire fronts in the mountain regions around Corte and Albertacce. Lightning strikes had triggered the fires there. In the Restonica Gorge near Corte and in the Valdu Niellu forest near Albertacce, steep slopes, difficult-to-access fire sites and renewed flare-ups made the work particularly risky. Several hiking trails were closed by order of the prefecture.

On Sunday, July 19, more than 200 personnel were deployed on the ground in Corsica, supported by two Pelican firefighting aircraft, a Puma firefighting helicopter and a reconnaissance aircraft. Numerous hikers had previously been evacuated from affected areas. Authorities are urging people to strictly observe closures: in the narrow valleys, even individual vehicles or onlookers can block emergency routes.

The two operations show how strongly the success of firefighting depends on the terrain. France’s security authorities centrally coordinate the allocation of national firefighting resources from Nimes. For Corsica, two Canadair aircraft and a heavy firefighting helicopter, among other resources, are planned for the wildfire season. On the ground, however, it is often wind, rock and the question of whether people can safely reach the edge of the fire that determine the outcome.