Var: All-Clear Did Not Apply to the Wildfire at Gros Bessillon

Pontevès – 29 July 2026: The report that a wildfire in the Var department was officially under control refers to the fire near Taradeau and Les Arcs-sur-Argens on July 19 and 20. The prefecture declared that fire contained on the evening of July 20. According to official figures, it had affected around 200 hectares of vegetation. Emergency crews remained on site afterward to extinguish hot spots and prevent a flare-up.

This announcement did not apply to the major fire that has been burning in the Gros Bessillon massif since July 21. The latest situation report published on the prefecture’s website on July 28 still described an ongoing operation. The widely circulated statement that the fire in central Var was definitively under control therefore cannot be confirmed for this second and substantially larger blaze. It appears that two fires, separate in time and location, were conflated.

The fire at Gros Bessillon spread in several directions from Pontevès and also affected the areas of the municipalities of Cotignac, Correns, Montfort-sur-Argens, Châteauvert, Brue-Auriac and Barjols. According to reports from July 27, new fire fronts emerged. Authorities therefore ordered evacuations over several days and set up shelters in the affected municipalities. However, the figure of nearly 5,000 evacuees from the original brief report cannot be clearly attributed to this fire in the available official situation reports.

Even after the flames receded, the work for firefighters remained demanding. Together with the 7th Civil Protection Regiment and the departmental council, they used heavy clearing equipment to create access routes in the wooded massif. This was intended to enable emergency crews to reach remaining hot spots and tackle smouldering areas. Such mop-up operations are crucial because dry vegetation, wind and difficult terrain can encourage a renewed flare-up.

On July 28, the prefecture met with firefighters, municipalities, insurers and other state bodies to discuss the consequences of the fires. Insurers indicated that they would exceptionally cover accommodation costs for up to three weeks for people who had had to leave their primary residence as a precaution. According to the authorities, this arrangement may also apply if a building was not directly damaged by the flames.

The prefecture and regional health authority also arranged psychological support in Cotignac on July 29 for residents of the affected municipalities. The official update of July 28 therefore clearly distinguished between the fire near Taradeau and Les Arcs-sur-Argens, which had already been contained on July 20, and the continuing operation at Gros Bessillon.