A fire "inaccessible" to ground teams on Monday covered "450 hectares" of maquis in the town of Santo-Pietro di Tenda in Haute-Corse, without threatening habitation, a porter told AFP. word of firefighters.

This fire, which was reported to the firefighters at 8:40 a.m., had covered an area "of 450 hectares" at 7:30 p.m. in this commune of Haute-Corse located about twenty kilometers from Saint-Florent, a seaside village very popular with tourists in summer.

No “dwellings or farms” were threatened

“We cannot say that the fire is fixed but the two edges are in clear regression”, indicated Monday evening the lieutenant-colonel Thierry Nutti, officer of duty of Codis 2B, after 56 drops of the committed helicopters, 60 of the bomber planes of Pelican type water and six drops of retardant.

"The particularity of this fire is that it is completely inaccessible to land means, in a steep geographical area where there is no activity other than a little hiking", added the officer, specifying that no " habitation or exploitation" was threatened.

Monitoring will take place throughout the night.

Heat, wind and low humidity

Monday, three unfavorable conditions were met: a temperature above 30 degrees Celsius, a humidity rate below 30% and wind at 30 km / h with "at times", "phenomena of reinforced thermal breeze", detailed the officer.

Tuesday, the forecast does not foresee any wind, according to the same source.

"In our difficulty today in fighting this disaster, all the conditions of drying of the air and vegetation, temperature and aerology were met so that the fire, even without established wind, could burn, with sloping effects, large surfaces,” said Nutti.

70 men will be airlifted on Tuesday

All the air resources available in Corsica were deployed on Monday and were in action until the beginning of the evening: two planes and two water bomber helicopters.

A Dash aircraft also arrived as reinforcements to drop retardant.

Tuesday morning, the helicopter intervention detachment (Dih) of Brignoles (Var), specialized in work in difficult to access areas, will operate in the area with three helicopters and 70 men will be helicoptered to work on the edges of the fire , he specified.

On Monday, 20 people were working on the ground.

On Saturday, several forests in Haute-Corse were closed due to a severe risk of fire and the affected area was considered "dangerous" for this risk, the authorities inviting people not to go there.

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