Fanned by the wind, the fire quickly covered 400 hectares of vegetation, according to the press release from the prefecture, which specifies that traffic was cut off on a departmental road.
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 12 September, had stopped spreading in the evening, but was still not contained, according to the prefecture and the fire brigade.
The fire, which broke out on Thursday around 3 p.m., was fanned by winds blowing at 70 km/h, and the fire quickly spread through 400 hectares of vegetation in the afternoon, according to the prefecture.
In a message published on the X network shortly after 4 p.m., the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, spoke of a “virulent fire” and the evacuation of “part of the village”, while the prefecture specified that “as a precautionary measure, 80 residents were evacuated”.
Around 800 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, supported by helicopters and water bombers.
This fire occurs at a time when the Pyrénées-Orientales are subject to severe drought for the third consecutive year.
“The vegetation is very dry”
“The situation is very complicated because of the very strong wind and this wind tends to push the flames towards the village,” Michel Hugue, the mayor of Castelnou, told BFMTV. It is also a “very dry and hilly” mountain terrain, which makes it “very complicated for vehicles to reach the flames.”
“We are reaching the end of summer, with very dry vegetation, which poses a major problem for stopping the fire,” he added.
Before continuing: “We decided with the prefecture to evacuate this village, because there are not many inhabitants, between 40 and 70. There were also a few tourists who left. We do not fear any problems with human lives in danger, but we are worried about the evolution of the fire which is heading towards the village. There are gusts, it is rotating, Canadairs are playing an important role.”
The fire “apparently” started “because of a medium-voltage electrical cable that came loose,” said the elected official, who hopes that “the fire, if it does not stop completely, will at least be contained in the vicinity of the village.”
Clément Boutin with AFP BFMTV journalist
