IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES. Fire in the Var: the Massif des Maures ravaged by flames – Franceinfo

The Massif des Maures is engulfed in flames. In the hinterland of Saint-Tropez, on the Côte d’Azur, a violent forest fire has already covered 6,000 hectares, Tuesday August 17, according to the firefighters of the Var. Half of the Plaine des Maures nature reserve has been devastated, according to France Blue Provence. Some 800 firefighters fight against the blaze, supported by helicopters and water bombers. Three people were slightly injured and 19 intoxicated. One “very provisional assessment”, drawn up by the prefect of Var on France Bleu. As a precaution, around 10,000 people, including many tourists, were evacuated, according to the Var gendarmerie. Franceinfo returns in pictures on this disaster.

>> Fire in the Var: follow the situation live

The fire broke out on Monday, shortly before 6 p.m., at a motorway rest area on the A57, about one hundred kilometers northeast of the coastal city of Toulon.

Soon 9 p.m., the planes of the @SecCivileFrance have stopped their rotations, the flames attack the massif of the Moors #fire #var #fire pic.twitter.com/h01wm64GxR

– Quentin O. (@QuentinA_o) August 16, 2021

The flames are advancing rapidly, fanned by the gusts of wind, devouring more and more forest.

Fire jumps up to 300m. Mistral still strong. Gust at 50km / h. #Fire #gonfaron pic.twitter.com/kywJOvt34P

– Alexandra Lay (@Alexandra_layy) August 16, 2021

In the evening, the flames approach the residential areas. Significant clouds of smoke are visible from the villages of Gonfaron, Cavalaire or Cogolin.

I’m not at ease …. #fire ~ 20km as the crow flies …#Gonfaron pic.twitter.com/Y8nHYSbhGa

– Juri (@Angelpick) August 16, 2021

At nightfall, Stephan Gady, mayor of La Môle, publishes a video shot in the middle of the flames. “I am currently in intervention, explains the chosen one, facing the camera. We are completely surrounded by fire and we have no way of getting back to La Môle at the moment. “

For security reasons, several thousand people were evacuated or invited to join accommodation areas. Several campsites are evacuated, says the prefecture of Var, which request to motorists “not to clutter the roads around the Gulf of Saint-Tropez”, in order to let the emergency services work.

In Bormes-les-Mimosas, more than 1,200 people evacuated from the campsites of Grimaud and La Môle are accommodated in a gymnasium, reported Tuesday morning the mayor of the town, François Arizzi, on his city’s Facebook page.

If the results are still only provisional, it is already dramatic for local biodiversity. “Half of the Plaine des Maures nature reserve has been devastated “, Concha Agero, deputy director of the French Biodiversity Office, told AFP on Tuesday. “It’s a disaster, because it’s one of the last spots sheltering Hermann’s turtle, she explains. We hope that, as in previous fires, it has buried itself underground and that some are only partially burned. ” The reptile, also called “the turtle of the Moors”, is on the list Red endangered species. This turtle nHe lives in France only in Corsica and in the Var, where its population is estimated at 15,000 individuals, including 10,000 on the reserve alone.