While a new fire broke out on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday near Bormes-les-Mimosas in the Var, causing the evacuation of more than 10,000 people, Édouard Philippe told AFP that he would go to “the front of the fire” on Wednesday night. The Prime Minister also announced the arrival of ground and air reinforcements.
The announcement came from Matignon: Prime Minister Edouard Philippe arrived in the Var “at the fore front of the fire” on Wednesday night around 9.10pm. The head of government said he had made “an update on the situation with the authorities prefectural and all the forces that combine to provide an answer to this problem “ .
#Incendies : Arrivée dans le Var pour faire le point sur la situation avec les autorités locales. pic.twitter.com/0pr6JwScH7
— Edouard Philippe (@EPhilippePM) July 26, 2017
In the early afternoon, he announced a coming fire reinforcement “entire France” and two new Canadair operational “in the course of the day. “ Regarding air assets, ” 80% of the fleet is available today, 20 aircraft including eight Canadair”.
Avec la section aérienne de la gendarmerie de Digne-les-Bains. Respect et soutien aux femmes et hommes qui luttent contre les #incendies. pic.twitter.com/M29hT7xrnZ
— Edouard Philippe (@EPhilippePM) July 26, 2017
During his visit in the Var, Édouard Philippe held a press conference at 22 am: “I want to again say what mine admiration and pride of ours face this great work” , has -t he said about the work of firefighters. “Tomorrow will be a difficult day but still lined with great courage and determination like today. “
Je suis fier de toute la chaîne des soldats du feu et de la remarquable coordination locale. Chaque feu, c’est plus de 500 pompiers engagés. pic.twitter.com/OG0BA8hsGI
— Edouard Philippe (@EPhilippePM) July 26, 2017
“There are still three active fires in the Var” , stated the Prime Minister. “We decided to complete our fleet, we decided to purchase 6 units” , he added, this announcement had been made the previous day by Interior Minister Gérard Collomb .
After this statement, Edouard Philippe had to go to a gym where people are living temporarily.
An investigation
On the origin of the fire, he said a “judicial inquiry has been initiated” . “There will be a survey to know and identify the reasons for starting fires” , he said.
The Prime Minister, who met the emergency after overflying massive fire, then did a round at the gym where about 200 people were located among the thousands evacuated from their homes.
10,000 hectares destroyed by fire
The Assembly, Édouard Philippe avair said that fires are “particularly marked by their intensity in Corsica and across the southeast of France. To give an order of magnitude and grasp the gravity of the situation, know that, to date, approximately 10 000 hectares were destroyed. “ The Prime Minister explained, however, that this figure could be heard ” all over the country since the beginning of the year “ . A figure twice the annual average for the past decade.
At Bormes-les-Mimosas 10,000 to 12,000 people evacuated
The head of government paid tribute to the work of “more than 6,000 women and men firemen, military civil security, forest-fire, the fleet drivers’ struggling against these
fires. Édouard Philippe recalled that “As we speak, it is still more than seven fires that ravage our territory” . In the Var, a very tourist department, a new fire broke out on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday near Bormes-les-Mimosas, causing the evacuation from 10 000 to 12 000 people. “Fire is passing under control, we are optimistic” , told AFP the regional prefect Stephane Bouillon.
The fire, most of the Londe-les-Maures (Var), has burned 1,300 hectares of forest and scrub, mobilizing more than 550 firefighters, some stepped in.
In the Bouches-du-Rhône, west of Marseille, another fire has traveled a hundred hectares, earning the village Carro where 400 people were evacuated for safety. One house and three mobile homes were affected, according to the prefecture.
Most fires stabilized
Another outbreak that erupted earlier in Peynier, northeast of Marseilles and destroyed 80 hectares, “is master course” , said the prefect Bouillon. Another very interest Var, Cross Valmer, where more than 400 hectares were destroyed by fire on Tuesday, had “a resumption of sizeable fire” on Wednesday afternoon, according to the first assistant to René Carandante Hall.
“The whole neighborhood was evacuated Gigaro, at least 200 people, as a precaution, the beaches were closed because the wind brings the fire to homes” , he has told AFP. In the evening, the regional prefect said he was again “mastered” .
Reversals were also held throughout the day on the fire of Artigues in Haut-Var, where 1700 hectares burned yesterday. In Corsica, where fires have destroyed nearly 2,000 hectares large bush since Tuesday, “the fire is stabilized but not mastered” , said the firefighters.
In Vaucluse, the fire that broke out in the Luberon is limited but some homes remain active, according to the prefecture. More than 1 275 hectares were covered by fire.
