The fire that forced the evacuation of the village of Castelnou, near Perpignan, has stopped spreading

The fire which had prompted the preventive evacuation of part of the village of Castelnou in the Pyrénées-Orientales, around thirty kilometres from Perpignan, on Thursday afternoon, had stopped spreading in the evening, but was still not contained, according to the prefecture and the fire brigade.

The fire, which broke out around 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, was fanned by winds blowing at 70 km/h, and the fire quickly spread across 400 hectares of vegetation in the afternoon, according to the prefecture. Traffic was cut off on two departmental roads at the scene and “As a precautionary measure, 80 residents were evacuated”she added.

Fire still not fixed

A total of around 800 firefighters from the Pyrénées-Orientales and several other departments, including Aude, Hérault, Gard and Bouches-du-Rhône, were dispatched to the scene, said the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS66).

While the fire has stopped spreading, the situation is more «favorable» that in the afternoon, but the fire is still not fixed, he specified to AFP. In a message published on the X network shortly after 4:00 p.m., the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, had mentioned a “virulent fire” and evacuation “of a part of the village” of Castelnou. This fire occurs while the Pyrénées-Orientales are subjected for the third consecutive year to a severe drought.