The devastating forest fire in the Pyrénées-Orientales continues to keep France on edge. Even on Tuesday morning the situation remains tense. Around 700 firefighters, together with about 200 emergency vehicles, water-dropping aircraft and helicopters, are on continuous duty. Despite the massive deployment of forces, the fire is still not considered “contained”. For the command, this means: the spread of the flames has so far not been fully brought under control.
The fire broke out on Saturday evening near Trévillach. Since then the flames have been consuming the dry forests and scrubland of the Aspres massif west of Perpignan. Around 4,600 hectares have now fallen victim to the blaze. The region is one of the particularly dry areas of southern France, and those conditions turned the landscape into an ideal breeding ground for the fire.
Adding to this was the tramontane, that strong downslope wind which regularly causes difficult weather conditions in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Combined with high temperatures and parched vegetation, the fire developed within a few hours into one of the largest wildfires of this summer. Such weather conditions pose enormous challenges even for experienced crews, as the flames spread unpredictably and new hotspots repeatedly emerge.
During the night the weather at least offered a small ray of hope. The wind eased intermittently, causing the fire to spread much more slowly. Authorities, however, are not declaring the situation safe. Fire services continue to focus their forces on the main fire front as well as on both flanks of the blaze. The aim remains to prevent a re-ignition and to contain the spread step by step.
The disaster has far-reaching consequences for the population. Around 10,000 people from a total of 26 municipalities had to leave their homes. Authorities are urgently urging all evacuees not to return to their places of residence for now. At the same time they ask the public to avoid unnecessary journeys so that emergency vehicles can move unimpeded. Several residential houses and agricultural buildings have been damaged or completely destroyed. There are also injuries to report, including firefighters who have been battling the flames under extreme conditions for days.
The effects now extend far beyond the immediate disaster area. For safety reasons the French section of a Tour de France stage was closed to spectators. Authorities want to concentrate all available forces on firefighting and avoid additional risks.
How quickly the situation eases now depends above all on the weather. Only when the wind subsides permanently and temperatures fall will the chances of a sustained containment of the fire increase. Until then the major wildfire in the Pyrénées-Orientales remains a trial for the emergency services – and a stark example of how vulnerable the dry Mediterranean regions have become to extreme wildfires.
Author: C.H.