Overview

• The blaze has burned roughly 16,000 hectares in less than 48 hours, making it the largest forest fire in France in at least two decades.
• One woman died after refusing to evacuate, one person remains missing, and several civilians and firefighters have been injured.
• Nearly 1,900 firefighters, supported by Canadair, Dash planes and water-bombing helicopters, continue intensive ground and aerial operations.
• Authorities have closed sections of the A9 motorway and ordered evacuations across 15 communes, with some roads reopening as winds shift.
• Record heat, prolonged drought and gusts up to 60 km/h have fueled the fire’s rapid progression through extremely dry vegetation.