The fire which covered about 930 hectares in the Pyrénées-Orientales on Sunday was brought under control overnight, around 2 a.m. “We continue to treat the edges. With the day, the wind will pick up again and we will check that there is no resumption in areas where the fire could be underlying, ”explains Sdis 66 (Departmental Fire and Rescue Service for Eastern Pyrenees).
The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, went there Monday morning “to take stock of the situation, to support the 500 firefighters and rescuers mobilized and the Pyreneans hard hit”, he indicated in a tweet.
The fire broke out on Sunday morning between the municipalities of Cerbère and Banyuls-sur-Mer. It was then fanned by a strong north wind and up to 540 firefighters were mobilized to try to put an end to it. It is to date the largest fire in France for the year 2023, which broke out in a department particularly affected by the lack of precipitation and the dryness of the soil. He crossed the border with Spain.
300 people had to be evacuated
In total, a firefighter was intoxicated by the fumes (not serious) and four homes were affected. The intervention of the firefighters prevented the spread of the fire to around a hundred homes directly exposed to the flames and, more generally, to the municipality of Cerbère. Most of the 300 people who had been evacuated in the afternoon were able to return to their homes. Twelve people are relocated by the municipality.
The drought in the Pyrénées-Orientales, linked to climate change, is already causing restrictions and tensions, four villages being deprived of drinking water since Friday while farmers, many in this fruit and vegetable producing department, fear for their survival in this historically arid early spring.