The fire which broke out this week in the Var covered more than 1,700 hectares, the fire having “continued to progress” during the night of Tuesday July 21 to Wednesday July 22, according to the prefecture, leading to the evacuation of nearly 400 people in Cotignac and several neighboring communities.
“By nightfall, the fire had covered 1,700 hectares. Since then, it has continued to progress and still threatens part of the communes of Cotignac, Correns and Montfort-sur-Argens,” detailed the Var prefecture in a press release published at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, adding that a new estimate of the burned area will be given at daybreak. And “more than 2,300 homes are without electricity”, mainly in Cotignac, according to the prefecture.
“During the next few hours, firefighters on the ground will focus on treating as many edges as possible and reducing hot spots while the weather conditions are more favorable,” the press release indicates.
The operation mobilizes 900 firefighters, 350 engines and 60 gendarmes, with reinforcements from different regions. They were surprised at the end of the afternoon by a reactivation of the fire despite a drop in the wind.
400 people evacuated
“The fire is coming down from the Gros Bessillon mountain at a very high speed, which was not entirely predictable, given the climatic conditions,” explained the prefect of Var, Simon Babre.
Around 400 people were evacuated, particularly from Pontevès, where the fire started, and reception centers were set up to accommodate the victims.
In this wooded and hilly region of the Toulon hinterland, the fire started from a field, according to emergency services. In the vicinity of Cotignac, an AFP videographer saw an impressive cloud of gray smoke rising behind the crests of a burning massif.
“For the moment the absolute priority for the entire area is this fire,” said the head of the Var firefighters, Éric Grohin, during the press briefing.
“A big disaster,” laments Isabelle Scarica, who is one of around fifty volunteers mobilized in Pontevès to prepare sandwiches for the firefighters. “It has taken on a very large scale, it affects other villages, it’s quite impressive,” adds this forty-year-old educator.
Calls for vigilance in the Mediterranean arc
A fire tanker truck was damaged and “four firefighters and two residents of Pontevès were slightly poisoned by smoke”, according to the prefecture.
Before a nighttime interruption imposed by the lack of visibility, more than 100 drops were carried out by air assets, which mobilized eight Canadairs, four water bomber helicopters and two Dash planes during the day.
Across the Mediterranean arc, the authorities are increasing calls for vigilance for this week, due to a dry and hot wind which is expected to increase at the end of the week, scorching temperatures and dry vegetation.
Another virulent fire burned 200 hectares in the Var and destroyed homes between Sunday and Monday near Arcs-sur-Argens.
In recent weeks, firefighters have been faced with daily fire outbreaks across France. Worsened by repeated heatwaves and a severe drought, the fire season in 2026 started earlier than usual.
Since the start of 2026, nearly 40,000 hectares have been burned
Since the start of 2026, nearly 40,000 hectares have been burned, “much more than everything burned last year”, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
In the Hautes-Alpes, a vegetation fire caused by a lightning strike five days ago covered 130 hectares in the Écrins massif, in an uninhabited and “very difficult to access” area overlooking two communes: L’Argentière-la-Bessée and Freissinières.
Some 90 firefighters are mobilized, explained Tuesday the prefect of Hautes-Alpes, Philippe Bailbé. Falling rocks complicated their task: a firefighter was slightly injured by a rock and an engine damaged by a two-ton block.
Corsica was also affected. Despite nine days of fighting, a fire in the Corte sector “continues to progress” over an area estimated at 260 hectares, according to the firefighters of Haute-Corse, who mobilized four water bombing helicopters on Tuesday.
Another fire, in the Albertacce area, is now fixed according to the firefighters, who are reducing its surface area – 284 hectares. “He will remain under active surveillance overnight.”
With AFP
