The inhabitants of several hundred houses had to be evacuated in Loupian and Bouzigues, in the Hérault, near Sète, where a fire ravaged some 300 hectares Sunday evening. A house was totally destroyed, and four to five mas burned, added the SDIS 34, stating that the fire had no casualties. The fire was set Sunday night, but 400 firefighters and 4 Canadairs remained mobilized in surveillance.
"This is a very fast fire, driven by a strong wind, which we had to face," says Jérôme Bonnefoux, SDIS 34 communications officer. "The challenge has been to protect homes." The evacuated families were welcomed at the barracks of Bouzigues and the socio-cultural center of Loupian.
The A9 closed several hours
In the afternoon, the fire had skipped the A9 motorway and had spread to the other side of the massif. The motorway axis has been closed to traffic for several hours. A few thousand motorists remained stuck, summoned by the gendarmerie to turn back on the emergency stop band to reach the nearest exit, and, thus, do not interfere with the drops of Canadairs nearby .
In the early evening, the highway was reopened, one way in each direction, confirmed the gendarmerie. Near Pézenas, another fire burned a hundred hectares of pine forest in Aumes, without touching homes, and mobilized 250 firefighters. It was set also Sunday night.