New wildfire erupts in Var, France: 600 evacuated, 100 hectares burned hours after larger blaze contained

The new fire

A wildfire ignited around 17:00 on Wednesday 29 July on the outskirts of Brignoles, a town of 17,000 in the Var department of southern France. The flames started near a waste disposal site in the Jausseranne sector and moved north, according to the prefecture. By 22:00 the fire had covered 100 hectares of vegetation, a fire service spokesperson told AFP. Two hundred and fifty firefighters were deployed, supported by three Canadair water bombers, two Dash aircraft and seven helicopters. Two firefighters were injured, one from heat stroke and the other after a fall, prefect Simon Babre said during an evening press briefing.

The fire is progressing little because there is no more wind, but it remains virulent.

No houses were damaged, the prefect added. Operations were set to continue through the night against a fire that was still active. The Var department was placed under an orange heat alert for Thursday, with temperatures forecast to hit 39°C inland.

Evacuations and shelter

Three neighbourhoods (Pelicon, Tombarel and La Renarde) were ordered to evacuate immediately. Mayor Didier Brémond posted on Facebook that between 600 and 700 people had been moved. The prefecture later confirmed 650 evacuees, with more than 150 of them received at the Brignoles exhibition hall. Residents elsewhere in the town were told to stay indoors.

600 to 700 people have been evacuated.

The Gros Bessillon fire

1. Jul 21, 2026Gros Bessillon fire starts near Pontevès
2. Jul 28, 2026Gros Bessillon fire declared fixed after 8 days
3. Jul 29, 05:00 PMNew fire breaks out near Brignoles waste disposal site
4. Jul 29, 10:00 PM100 hectares burned, 650 people evacuated

The new blaze broke out less than 24 hours after firefighters declared the Gros Bessillon fire fixed. That fire had started on 21 July in a field in Pontevès and spent eight days devouring a flank of the Gros Bessillon massif, encircling villages such as Cotignac, Correns and Barjols. It burned 4,500 hectares and forced nearly 5,000 people to evacuate from several communes in the centre of the department. A 23-year-old man was placed under formal investigation and remanded in custody, suspected of around ten vegetation fire starts in the Brignoles, Cabasse and Vins-sur-Caramy areas between 19 and 24 July. The gendarmerie said the main Gros Bessillon fire is not believed to have been started deliberately, but the man is suspected of causing a flare-up on its southern edge. Separately, a 39-year-old man was sentenced to one year in prison on Wednesday for a different fire offence.

Other fires

Gros Bessillon

4,500

Brignoles

100

Fontainebleau

7

Gros Bessillon

4500 hectares

Brignoles

100 hectares

Fontainebleau

7 hectares

In Seine-et-Marne, about 50 firefighters tackled a significant rekindle in the Fontainebleau forest on Wednesday. The fire burned an estimated seven hectares on the Mont Aigu sector, roughly two kilometres west of Fontainebleau, on the edge of the area affected by a larger blaze that had been fixed on 14 July. No evacuations were planned, the departmental fire service said. Across France, more than 160,000 hectares have been burned by wildfires since the start of 2026.

Weather and outlook

The Var department was under an orange forest-fire vigilance warning on Wednesday. With temperatures climbing to 39°C and the fire still active overnight, authorities urged the public to avoid the area and give priority to emergency services. The prefect noted that the absence of wind was helping to slow the fire's spread, but the heat and dry conditions kept the risk high.