Last Monday, a fire broke out on the A57 highway area, near the town of Gonfaron. After 5 days of intense fighting, the prefect of Var announced that the fire was controlled.
7,100 hectares of forest burned in 5 days, more than half of the Plaine des Maures national nature reserve devastated, about fifty houses completely burned down, enormous damage caused by this large-scale fire that required significant mobilization of the region’s firefighters (over 1,100 firefighters, 250 vehicles, three Canadairs, two water-bombing helicopters, and 130 reinforcements from other departments).
2 people lost their lives in this tragedy: a man in his fifties and a 32-year-old woman on vacation were found in Grimaud. 7 firefighters and 26 people were also injured.
For several days, a research team composed of gendarmes, firefighters, and agents from the national forest office has been investigating to trace the origin of the fire.
The possibility of a cigarette butt thrown by an individual is being considered. However, according to the public prosecutor of Draguignan, Patrice Camberou, “These cigarette butts are a possible cause, but not necessarily the cause.”
After several days of intense fighting, the fire that has been ravaging the Saint-Tropez hinterland since Monday is now “controlled, but not mastered,” announced the prefect of Var, Evence Richard, on Friday, August 20. This means that while the fire continues to exist, its advance has been halted.
