More than 3,000 people were evacuated from several campsites on Monday evening, where a violent fire affected three municipalities.
A major fire broke out on Monday, August 14, in the afternoon, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, near homes. “The villages of Saint André, Sorède, and the town of Argelès are threatened”, according to a communication from the firefighters, which took place on Monday evening. We take stock of what we know about this fire “of great violence”in the words of the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin.
More than 3,000 people evacuated from five campsites
More than 3,000 people were evacuated from several campsites, where the fire affects several municipalities, according to firefighters. According to the prefect of the Pyrénées-Orientales who spoke in the evening, “a campsite was directly affected by the fire”. “At this time, there are no identified victims.” he added. Houses were also evacuated, as was the Intermarché de Saint-André, according to France Bleu Roussillon. At the microphone of this same radio, Antoine Parra, the mayor of Argelès-sur-Mer reported five evacuated campsites, including one largely destroyed, where gas cylinders exploded in the mobile homes. He said he had opened four rooms to accommodate the thousands of evacuees.
480 hectares covered by flames
The fire that broke out in the afternoon in Saint-André covered 480 hectares, said Monday at 10:45 p.m., the prefect of the department, Rodrigue Furcy, during a press conference. “The situation is starting to improve. The wind is pushing the fire in an area between Saint-André and Sorrède but not towards Argelès”he added. “The priority is to hold the fire or contain it before nightfall, because air assets will no longer be able to intervene at nightfall”, he said earlier in the evening.
“We are facing a fire like we have never seen”, commented in the evening, on France Bleu Roussillon, the mayor of Saint-André, Samuel Moli, who deplores “a catastrophic situation”. “Our town is hard hit, and there is a lot of damage,” he added.
430 firefighters present on site, according to the prefect
Monday evening, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Twitter that significant resources had been committed to fight the fire, while calling “the population and holidaymakers with the greatest vigilance”. In detail, eight Canadair, three Dash and three helicopters were on site during the prefecture’s press briefing before 10 p.m. At 10:45 p.m., the prefect estimated the number of firefighters engaged at 430.
