“Forest fire […] is no longer progressing and is fixed, ”said the prefect of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence this Friday noon in a press release. Since Tuesday, the fire will have destroyed “about 300 hectares” on the heights of the Verdon regional natural park, she added.
The fire broke out on Tuesday near the town of Rougon. Since then, many human and material resources have struggled to limit its progression. According to the prefecture, to succeed in fixing the fire, it took 65 drops by water bomber helicopters and the relentless work on the ground of 4 forest fire intervention groups. “In total, more than 210 firefighters have been engaged” from barracks spread over three departments, announces the prefect.
Watch to avoid a resumption of fire
Now that the fire is no longer progressing, it is for the hundred firefighters still present on the ground to monitor the sector, in particular the areas at risk such as the edges of the forest, to avoid a resumption of the fire.
At this stage, the origin of the fire is still unknown even if the prefect insists on the fact that “9 out of 10 forest fires have a human origin”. In the department, since the start of the year, no less than 500 hectares have gone up in flames, “an area three times greater than the hectares burned over the whole of 2021”, deplores the representative of the state.