The fire is now fixed at Vitrolles, but it was in the city. The flames traveled a little less than thirty hectares, this Sunday afternoon. The north of the Plaine district and part of the Cadenières district were affected. About 250 homes had to be evacuated, as a preventive measure.
During the intervention, about fifty inhabitants took refuge in the Maurice Piot gymnasium, opened by the services of the municipality. This Sunday evening, all these evacuees were able to return to their homes. Two houses and at least six cars were completely destroyed by the flames. But the fire did not cause any human damage.
Nearly 250 firefighters were mobilized at the height of the intervention. They were supported by around thirty vehicles and substantial air assets: five Canadair, a Dash and two water bomber helicopters. To avoid any resumption of the fire, a hundred fire soldiers will spend the night from Sunday to Monday on the spot.
Loïc Gachon, the mayor of Vitrolles, had asked the inhabitants of the part of his town which was not directly affected by the fire of confine oneself. The objective was in particular to avoid creating an influx of traffic on the roads, to facilitate the intervention of the Bouches-du-Rhône firefighters. At Vitrolles, in fact, the A7 motorway had been cut in both directions of traffic.
This Sunday, the Mistral was reinforced with gusts of at least 80 km / h. This is the reason why the prefectural authorities prohibit access to all forest areas. This Monday, the wind must continue to blow, up to 65 kml / h at least, in the area.
This summer, in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the biggest fire ravaged more than 1,000 hectares, at the beginning of August, in Martigues.
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