A forest fire, fanned by a violent wind, broke out on Tuesday June 11 around 3 p.m. in the town of Vidauban, in the hinterland of Saint-Tropez.
The origin of the fire, contained since Wednesday afternoon, is believed to be “accidental”.
600 hectares of forest burned. The origin of the first big fire of the year in the south of France, contained since Wednesday June 12 afternoon, would be “accidental”, estimated the prosecution following the initial findings of the investigation. “A tractor clearing brush may have hit a metal object, this incident causing sparks and a fire”explained the prosecutor of Draguignan (Var), Pierre Couttenier, specifying that “Further assessments will be launched to confirm the origin of this disaster.”
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First big fire of the year in the south of France: 600 hectares burned
The system put in place by the firefighters was reduced by half after the fire was fixed on Wednesday around 4 p.m. and a “calm end of day”, now still 300 firefighters and 80 vehicles on site. Earlier in the day, while the violent wind which had fueled the progression of the flames the day before had calmed, the firefighters concentrated on the edges of the fire thanks to a large device made up of 760 men, 190 machines and three water bomber planes and a helicopter.
“There is a whole device that is placed on the ground with pipes so that we can surround the fire and drown all the edges,” detailed Wednesday morning the departmental director of the Var firefighters, Eric Gohin. The fire is now contained within a perimeter, despite potential outbreaks of flames in places. “Fixed does not mean mastered”however recalled the prefect’s chief of staff, Joséphine Guigliano-Boutonnet, during a press briefing, specifying that the system may still be there “for several days”until the fire is completely extinguished.
65 people evacuated during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday
Although the fire caused no casualties, 65 people living in hamlets near the fire were evacuated overnight before returning to their homes on Wednesday morning. The fire, fanned by a strong wind, broke out on Tuesday around 3 p.m. in the town of Vidauban, at departmental road 48, in the hinterland of Saint-Tropez. “All the conditions are there for the summer season to be placed under a significant risk of forest fire,” warned Joséphine Guigliano-Boutonnet.
