Two campsites located in Argelès-sur-Mer (Pyrénées-Orientales) were evacuated late Wednesday afternoon due to a fire in the town, AFP learned from firefighters and gendarmes: 70 people were evacuated from a first establishment and 95 from another. Three homes, or 20 people in total, were also sheltered. A community hall was opened to welcome them.
At 5 p.m., the fire had covered about 3 hectares near a commercial area, according to the firefighters, supported in their intervention by a water bomber helicopter. This fire occurred while the department is experiencing a major drought, and has been placed at “very severe” fire risk since mid-May.
The Pyrénées-Orientales have already been the scene, in mid-April, of the first big fire of the year in the country, with flames that have covered around 1,000 hectares.