A fire traversed this Saturday 500 hectares of vegetation in the mountain of Alaric, between Narbonne and Carcassonne (Aude), we learned from the firefighters. “The working conditions are very difficult because of the drought of the vegetation and the strong wind,” said Commander Jean-Michel Dubois, of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Operational Center (Codis) of Aude.
The fire broke out in the early afternoon for an unknown reason on the central median of the A61 between the towns of Moux and Foncouverte, said the same source. Ninety people from a district of this town, threatened at one time, had to be evacuated as the fire front progressed.
The prefecture indicated that the situation was “stabilized” in Foncouverte while fire was now threatening the commune of Fabrezan. In the early evening, and while the fire covered 500 hectares of vegetation in this massif which rises to 600 meters, no less than 500 firefighters were at work, the 300 firefighters of the Aude quickly received the reinforcement of 200 firefighters from neighboring departments.
🌲🔥 Following the unfavorable development of #Forest fire of #Sweet, many resources are committed in support of the 270 firefighters of the @ SDIS11OFFICIAL
-7 #Canadair, 2 #Dash, 2 #Beech & 1 water bomber helicopter
-9 reinforcement columns including 2 extra-zonal
– 75 firefighters pic.twitter.com/6jzGuAJqE0– Civil Security (@SecCivileFrance) July 24, 2021
Seven Canadair, two Dash-type water bombers as well as a Super Puma helicopter support the ground resources until nightfall, Codis 11 also indicated. Human and material reinforcements from Hérault and Bouches -du-Rhône, Auvergne and Sud-Ouest should arrive overnight to fight against this fire, which has been the largest in the region since the start of summer.
Power cuts in France, Spain and Portugal
The incident resulted in power cuts for nearly an hour in France, Spain and Portugal, according to a press release from the Electricity Transmission Network (RTE). “The very high voltage power line [entre Perpignan et l’ouest de Narbonne] had a technical incident and was switched off around 4.30 p.m. ”, notes the manager of the high-voltage networks.
Electricity flows then shifted to the lines in the western Pyrenees, creating an overload that caused power cuts for 88,000 homes around Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) and 19,000 homes around Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) ), details the press release, specifying that the power was restored around 5:30 p.m.
The Spanish and Portuguese networks were also affected after “the Iberian Peninsula was disconnected from the European electricity grid”, reports RTE.
“Thus, 2,350 MW of electricity were cut in Spain and around 1,000 MW in Portugal”, according to RTE, which adds that “from 5.30 p.m., most Spanish and Portuguese homes were gradually replenished. “.