Wildfire near Cotignac: Residents return to destroyed homes

Cotignac - 24 July 2026: Following the devastating wildfire at Gros Bessillon, the first residents of Cotignac are returning to their homes and finding surroundings marked by ash, soot and fire damage. Since Tuesday, 21 July, the fire had spread rapidly from a field near Ponteves across the wooded hills of central Var. Precautionary evacuations had been ordered in several local areas.The Var prefecture put the area affected by the fire at around 2,500 hectares on Wednesday morning. According to authorities, between 30 and 40 homes were damaged, while several ...