Nearly 1,000 firefighters employed to tackle blazes. One fire is still ongoing this morning
Two intense wildfires in the south of France have burnt over 400 acres of land, with hundreds of firefighters tackling the blazes.
In addition, thousands of holidaymakers were evacuated overnight after a third fire broke out in a field just 100 metres from a campsite near the Spanish border.
The first and largest of the wildfires started on Sunday (August 18) afternoon, whilst the second one – which is still ongoing – started around 23:00.
Both fires broke out in Hérault, which has been under increased forest fire warnings due to weather conditions. In both situations, it is unknown as yet what started the fire.
The first fire broke out in the Gigean commune, 150 metres from the A9 motorway, and began rapidly spreading due to strong winds.
It broke out only a few dozen kilometres from Montpellier, the department’s capital, and spread south towards Frontignan, a town of 24,000 people on the Mediterranean coast.
People from the town were evacuated, with homes thought to be at risk from the blaze. No one was injured, however.
Around 600 firefighters were called to help tackle the blaze, and after several hours of struggle they managed to get it under control.
Tactics included using water from swimming pools in the local area to tackle the blaze, as the spread of the fire became unpredictable, and additional water was needed.
Up to 450 firefighters remain on site, reducing the risk of a second blaze beginning – forest fires are more likely to rekindle in areas that have recently been subject to a wildfire.
The second fire broke out in Nissan-lez-Enserune, around 60km west of Gigean.
The fire began to spread quickly because of strong winds in the area and more than 200 firefighters were deployed to the area.
They helped prevent the fire from spreading overnight, but it is still burning this morning. Around 60 hectares of land have been destroyed.
“The fire is still evolving, particularly on the right-hand side, which is not easily accessible,” the Hérault prefecture stated this morning.
Firefighting aviation craft have been sent to the area to help put out the blaze.
The prefecture has also asked people not to intervene and to refrain from stopping to take photographs if passing near the site.