Ouest France reports that the fire was spotted on Tuesday in Rougon, a village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department. More than two hundred firefighters were deployed to fight the fire, but the fire spread over the difficult terrain. On Twitter, a holidaymaker posts images of the fire visible from the Huttopia campsite on the surrounding hills.
The evacuation of the campers took place on Wednesday evening between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. and everyone has been brought to safety, according to the local Red Cross. On Thursday morning, it will be assessed whether the holidaymakers can return to the campsite, which was not fully evacuated. It is not clear whether there are also Dutch people staying at the campsite.
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Meanwhile, elsewhere in the south of France, in the Ardèche, a few hundred kilometers from Castellane, there is also a forest fire. Despite the efforts of more than six hundred firefighters and five fire-fighting planes, 950 hectares have burned down around the town of Aubenas, reports the French newspaper Le Monde. In the vicinity of the tourist town of Vogüé, 350 people had to be evacuated, including 200 campers. The fire was largely under control on Wednesday evening, according to local authorities.
‘Exceptional crisis’
France has been struggling with extreme drought this month and forest fires have raged in several regions. West of Bordeaux, several campsites were evacuated due to large forest fires that were only brought under control after almost two weeks. The fire service spoke of an “exceptional crisis.”
It is unclear how the fires started. A man was arrested in the south of France who is suspected of having started forest fires several times since May. France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes reports on Wednesday that it is a member of the volunteer fire brigade in the department of Hérault.