The fire that devastated more than 400 hectares of forest in the Aspres massif in the Pyrénées-Orientales was “put out” – meaning it stopped spreading – during the night of Thursday to Friday 13 September. According to the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS), it remains under surveillance by firefighters.
The fire, which broke out early Thursday afternoon and was fuelled by strong winds, forced the evacuation of 80 residents of the village of Castelnou. They were taken to the town hall in a neighbouring town, about 30 kilometres from Perpignan. Five firefighters were slightly injured and an isolated house was slightly damaged by the fire, the SDIS said.
“Many strains”
From now on, “We are in a phase of processing the edges, of drowning”, Lieutenant Colonel Guillaume Brunet of the SDIS told France Bleu Roussillon. “There will be long-term work all day at least, because 300 hectares is a significant fire perimeter, there are many stumps that are still burning”, He clarified, stressing that firefighters are operating in rescue operations “steep”. “That is why we have to be very vigilant and have real active surveillance”, explains.
At the height of the operation, eight hundred firefighters were mobilised, supported by helicopters and water-bombing planes. In the area affected by the fire, traffic was cut off on two departmental roads. The evacuated residents had not yet returned to their homes on Friday morning. This fire occurred while the Pyrénées-Orientales were suffering from a severe drought for the third consecutive year.
