Hundreds flee as wildfire rips through southern France

COTIGNAC - A fast-moving wildfire erupted on July 21 in southern France, forcing hundreds out of their homes as nearly 1,000 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft battled to stop the blaze.

The fire swept through wooded hills in the Var region, burning 1,700 hectares in just a few hours and prompting the evacuation of nearly 400 people, the area’s top official said.

“The fire is moving down Gros Bessillon mountain at a very fast speed, which was not at all anticipated given the climatic conditions and weakening wind,” said Simon Barbre, prefect for the region located between Marseille and Nice.

He said evacuations took place around the villages of Cotignac, Montfort-sur-Argens and Correns. Many of those moved to safety came from Ponteves, where the fire started, and the nearby village of Sillans-la-Cascade.

Very dry conditions in the area have caused an extreme forest-fire risk, according to the French weather service Meteo-France.

Barbre said air crews were racing to lay down fire-retardant barriers ahead of the advancing flames.

An AFP journalist near Cotignac saw a huge plume of grey smoke billowing behind a ridge engulfed in flames.

“This fire is the absolute priority of the whole area right now,” said Var fire chief Eric Grohin, adding that between 900 and 950 firefighters were deployed on the ground.

‘Major disaster’

“It’s grown enormously, it’s spreading to other villages,” said Isabelle Scarica, one of around 50 volunteers in Ponteves preparing sandwiches for firefighters.

She said the situation was “a major disaster”.

One fire engine was damaged and four firefighters and two residents of Ponteves suffered minor smoke inhalation, according to local authorities.

Before aircraft were grounded for the night, firefighting crews carried out more than 100 water and retardant drops using eight Canadair water bombers, four-water-dropping helicopters and two Dash aircraft.

Fuelled by repeated heatwaves and drought, the 2026 wildfire season began earlier than usual, and firefighters have been battling near-daily outbreaks across France in recent weeks.

Another major blaze burned 200 hectares and destroyed homes in the Var region between Sunday and Monday near Les Arcs-sur-Argens.

Nearly 40,000 hectares have burned in France since the start of the year, “far more than was burned during the whole of last year”, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Wildfires were also active elsewhere in France.

In the Alps, a lightning-sparked blaze that began five days ago had burned 130 hectares in a remote area of the Ecrins mountain range.

On the Mediterranean island of Corsica, firefighters were still battling a blaze near Corte after nine days. AFP