A fire has burned at least 30 hectares in the Pyrénées-Orientales, three firefighters slightly injured and people evacuated

340 firefighters were mobilised as well as numerous aerial resources, as the fire spread on Saturday afternoon to Villelongue-Dels-Monts, near Perpignan.

A major fire broke out late Saturday afternoon, August 24, between Villelongue-Dels-Monts and Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines (Pyrénées-Orientales). At least 32 hectares burned and the fire also covered 110 hectares. With nightfall, there were no more air resources mobilized to fight the fire, announced on France Bleu Roussillon Ludovic Julia, chief of staff of the prefecture. Previously, seven Canadairs, two Dash planes, two water bomber helicopters, an HBE Puma and a coordination plane had been engaged.

In total, 340 firefighters were mobilized to extinguish the flames. The chief of staff recalls that there are no victims among the population but that “nine firefighters were affected by the fumes and one suffered a fractured collarbone.” Two police officers were also affected by the fumes, added Ludovic Julia. The latter specifies that there is no “no civilian injuries so far” and that “55 gendarmes were mobilized and carried out 20 preventive evacuations”.

An outbuilding of a house caught fire and two evacuations took place: a private plot of land that accommodates mobile homes, with around twenty people occupying it, as well as an equestrian centre – employees and animals. People were also welcomed into a multi-purpose room. The mayor of Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines, Nathalie Regond-Planas adds that “16 people” were welcomed in the town’s multipurpose hall and that the town will “offer to spend the night here”.

Nathalie Regond-Planas ensures that “As soon as she saw the smoke, she called the fire brigade”. She confides having been “very worried” et “on alert”. “I was able to trigger the municipal safeguard plan”she adds, specifying however that “the wind has changed” now and that “The atmosphere is more serene than this afternoon” and that there is “less smoke”.

The fire broke out around 5:15 p.m. “Fueled by gusts of southerly winds reaching 60km/h, the fire spread rapidly and crossed the RD618, threatening inhabited areas”specified the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales, which advised people to avoid the area. On Twitter, the department’s prefecture indicates that the RD618 “remains closed until further notice” but that “the RD2 reopens from Brouilla towards Saint-Génis-des-Fontaines”.