The violent fire that broke out on Monday August 14 in the Pyrénées-Orientales was fixed after covering several hundred hectares. The fire affected the municipalities of Saint-André, Sorède and Argelès, about twenty kilometers south-east of Perpignan and caused the evacuation of more than 3,000 holidaymakers from various campsites in the department.
Some 250 firefighters, supported by aerial surveillance, will remain mobilized overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, to “avoid a resumption of fire”, indicated the prefecture on Tuesday morning, specifying that most holidaymakers were able to return to the campsites except ” from 350 to 400″ for which a support unit will be set up.
In total, “more than 650 firefighters” were mobilized overnight, and eight Canadair, three Dash and three water bomber helicopters deployed Monday evening until nightfall, according to the prefecture.
Going to meet these campers, hosted in a communal hall in Argelès, the prefect Rodrigue Furcy specified that “the fire is fixed”, but that the most affected area remains under “strong vigilance” and “the firefighters are still in struggle”. Live on France Bleu Roussillon, he added that 30 houses were affected by the flames, eight of which were heavily impacted, as well as a warehouse and a campsite where “the damage is very significant”.
“The good news is that we have no casualties,” added the prefect. But, according to civil security, nineteen firefighters were slightly injured after inhaling the fumes and a twentieth was more seriously injured.
According to the prefecture, “the fire broke out shortly after 5 p.m. (Monday) and covered 480 hectares in a suburban area with a high concentration of tourists. The situation was particularly delicate due to intense heat, drought and swirling winds of up to 80 km/h.”
Four campsites and two housing estates were evacuated and seven accommodation rooms were opened in total in the three municipalities to accommodate the evacuees. From midnight, the occupants of three of the four campsites were able to return to their accommodation.
Several roads were cut and traffic on the SNCF Perpignan-Cerbère line was interrupted. “A very violent fire is underway in the Pyrénées-Orientales. I call on the population and holidaymakers to be extremely vigilant,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote early Monday evening on X (ex-Twitter).
Early Monday evening, the mayor of Saint-André, Samuel Moli, described the situation as “catastrophic”. “We are facing a fire like we have never seen,” he said on France Bleu Roussillon.
“Our municipality is hard hit, and there is a lot of damage”, although “we still have to assess” this damage, according to him. “People must not try to cross the village,” also warned Samuel Moli, who had his own house affected by the flames. For Antoine Parra, mayor of Argelès, this fire was “very difficult to control”. “A campsite was totally engulfed in flames” and “people lost their homes,” he said in the evening on France Bleu Roussillon.
Bordering Spain, Pyrénées-Orientales is the French department most affected by drought. The fire risk is very high there, recalls the prefect. “We have several fire starts per day,” he said.
“The Pyrénées-Orientales have been suffering from an increased drought since the beginning of the year, they are on drought red vigilance. Many preventive actions have been carried out by firefighters. However, departures have been noted, which shows that the sector is a real powder keg, ”analyzes Éric Brocardi, spokesperson for the National Federation of Firefighters of France.
An investigation was opened for “arson aggravated by the endangerment of others” in order to determine the origin of the fire, which does not mean that the criminal track is privileged, indicated the prosecutor of Perpignan, Jean-David Cavaillé.
The Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, went there on Tuesday afternoon to “show the government’s solidarity with those directly” affected by the fire, he said in Argelès. Also present, the Minister Delegate for Local Authorities, Dominique Faure, notably wanted to “show her support […] for the civil security forces who were heroic in the face of this fire”.
