France's longest-recorded wildfire declared fixed after 18 days in Var

Eighteen-day blaze declared fixed

The Gros Bessillon fire in France's Var department was declared "fixed" on Friday 7 August at 19:00, after 18 days of mobilisation that the prefecture called "unprecedented in its duration." The prefecture announced: "After 18 days of exceptional mobilisation, the Gros Bessillon fire is officially declared fixed." The fire started on 21 July in the afternoon in a field in the village of Pontèves and burned 6,300 hectares across seven communes (Pontevès, Correns, Cotignac, Carcès, Montfort-sur-Argens, Châteauvert and Barjols), with 5,700 hectares burned on those communal territories. Seventy houses were damaged, of which 41 were destroyed. About 6,000 people were evacuated over the course of the blaze. Authorities tempered the announcement, stating it would still take several days to control the fire and then extinguish it definitively.

A fire that would not stay out

The fire was first declared fixed on 28 July at the end of the day, after burning roughly 4,500 hectares and forcing nearly 5,000 people to flee their homes. But on 31 July at midday it resumed south of the main fire, near the commune of Correns, prompting several hundred more evacuations and burning several hundred additional hectares before crews regained control. The resumption illustrated the difficulty of fully containing a fire of this scale in extreme conditions. Laurent Nuñez told a press conference on Tuesday that it was the longest fire recorded in the Var since wildfire records began. The battle to control the blaze showed the importance of preventive brush clearing and commune preparedness, as the fire's complexity tested response capabilities across the department.

Massive firefighter deployment

Over 18 days, 4,250 firefighters from the Var, 6,870 reinforcements from across France and 100 European firefighters battled the blaze, according to the Var prefecture. As of the end of the week, 450 firefighters remained mobilised on site. The prefecture stated that "surveillance of the massifs and checks at their edges are maintained." The Var was classified under an orange heatwave alert on Saturday, and the combination of ongoing heat and absence of rainfall kept authorities on guard against further flare-ups.

Correns hit hardest

Simon Babre, prefect of the Var, said on Monday that Correns had endured "three successive assaults of fire" and was the most affected commune, promising it would receive the greatest attention and support. Nicole Rullan, mayor of Correns, described the situation on franceinfo.

As long as it doesn't rain, we'll have this fear of flare-ups

She said residents had been evacuated "several times" and that on the previous Friday the fire had completely encircled the village, cutting all escape routes.

All the roads were cut so it was very anxiety-inducing

She described a pattern of "calm mornings and afternoons of flare-ups" and said no rain was forecast. She called the territory "completely devastated," adding that "the whole forest was burned through, the whole territory needs to be rebuilt." The prefect cautioned that "it will take several years for nature to reclaim its rights."