PASCAL GUYOT / AFP
As of Sunday evening, the fire appeared to be under control, although firefighters said they would have to work through the night due to high winds.
The forest fire, which broke out on Sunday around 15:00, has burned more than 300 hectares in the town of Gigean (Hérault) and is moving towards the heights of Frontignan. Two Dash planes, five Canadairs and three helicopters are being mobilized to fight this pine forest fire, firefighters said. “In Frontignan, numerous defenses of sensitive points are underway, which make it possible to control the fire for the moment,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin explained on the same social network, indicating that he would go to the site on Monday.
Hérault Prefecture indicated on X that 600 Hérault firefighters are mobilized, with reinforcements from Bouches-du-Rhône (80 firefighters and 80 marine firefighters from Marseille).
The city of Frontignan, 24,000 inhabitants, south-west of Montpellier, triggered, in turn, its municipal protection plan, the prefecture said, still on X. The fire started 150 meters from the A 9 highway “but it is evolving in the opposite direction, towards the Gardiole Massif”, indicated the prefecture, stating that some homes at the foot of the massif “are evacuated and protected”. Streets in the city were closed to traffic to allow firefighters and law enforcement to respond, and a gym was opened to accommodate all evacuated residents, the municipality added.