More than 3,000 holidaymakers flee violent fire near Spanish border

More than 3,000 holidaymakers were on Tuesday picking up the pieces of disrupted summer breaks after they were evacuated from campsites following fires near the French border with Spain.

A firefighter clears up after a blaze ravaged the commune of Saint-André in the Pyrénées-Orientales near the border with Spain. © AFP - Raymond Roig

The fire broke out on Monday afternoon between Saint-André and Argelès-sur-Mer in the Pyrénées-Orientales region in south-western France.

The blaze was brought under control during the early hours of Tuesday morning, France Bleu Roussillon reported.

Four campsites and two housing estates were evacuated to makeshift accommodation as a precaution while around 650 firefighters and several aircraft spraying water tackled the incident.

Holidaymakers from three of the four campsites were eventually allowed to return to their tents and cabins.

A woman takes a picture of the wildfire that broke out leading to the evacuation of more than 3.000 people from nearby campsites in Saint-Andre near Argeles-sur-Mer south-western France, on 14 August, 2023. AFP - Raymond Roig

The fire spread over about 500 hectares in the Pyrénées-Orientales region, local officials said.

The fire caused no casualties among the population, but 17 firefighters were slightly injured, the prefecture said on social media.

Feu en passe d’être fixé sur les communes de Sorède, Saint-André et Argelès-sur-Mer au Sud du département des Pyrénées-Orientales

Le feu s’est déclaré peu après 17h et a parcouru 480 hectares dans une zone péri-urbaine à forte concentration touristique.

— Préfet des Pyrénées-Orientales (@Prefet66) August 14, 2023

Several roads were cut off and traffic on the Perpignan-Cerbère SNCF line was suspended on Tuesday.

Fire 'extremely virulent'

Éric Brocardi, spokesman for the Fédération des Pompiers de France (French Firefighters Federation), told franceinfo on Tuesday that the fire was extremely virulent, due in particular to winds of between 50 and 80 kilometres per hour.

"A very violent fire is underway in the Pyrénées-Orientales. I call on the population and holidaymakers to be extremely vigilant", the Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Un incendie d’une grande violence est en cours dans les Pyrénées-Orientales. J’appelle la population et les vacanciers à la plus grande vigilance. Des moyens importants sont engagés : 13 avions, 3 hélicoptères et plus de 500 sapeurs-pompiers. Courage à eux. https://t.co/TVftuKehMy

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) August 14, 2023

Drought

The Pyrénées-Orientales department has been hit worse than any other French region by a devastating drought since early May.

French weather service Météo France is predicting even higher temperatures on Monday in the department, where a hot southerly wind over the mountains is forecast to bring spikes of up to 39 degrees Celsius.

But the heat there is expected to break from Tuesday.