Forest fires: red alert in Bouches-du-Rhône on Sunday
The Bouches-du-Rhône region will once again be on red alert for forest fires on Sunday, with a "very high" risk of fires starting due to stronger winds, according to Météo France's warning on Friday, August 1. Starting Saturday, all forest areas in the department will be strictly off-limits, the prefecture announced.
According to Météo France, the mistral and tramontane winds are expected to strengthen this weekend, "up to 70 to 80 km/h at peak speeds, maintaining a high level of fire danger around the Mediterranean."
For Saturday, eight departments in the south-east of France, including Corsica, are on orange alert for forest fires, seven for Sunday.
In addition to Bouches-du-Rhône, several prefectures have announced the closure of numerous forest areas for the weekend, as has been the case regularly since mid-July.
In the second half of the month, the mistral and the tramontane winds, coupled with the heat and drought, encouraged the outbreak of significant fires, particularly in Aude and Bouches-du-Rhône .
Halfway through the summer season, Civil Security has already counted more than 15,000 hectares burned across the entire national territory, with 9,000 fires starting since the beginning of the year, mainly on the Mediterranean coast.
La Croıx
