Wildfire risks in south and south-west France, dozens of forests closed
The warnings are set to decrease tomorrow but other national ones will increase in Gironde, Dordogne and the Lot in the south-west
The closures are in place to limit the risk of blazes starting up, or injuring those caught in them
Alexandros Michailidis/Shutterstock
Authorities in the south of France have prohibited public access to dozens of forested areas and massifs as the risk of wildfires remains high.
In the Bouches-du-Rhône, 23 areas have been closed today (August 21), with the Var, Vaucluse, Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales departments also preventing access to certain areas.
A mix of hot weather, dry vegetation from a lack of rain, and strong winds is increasing the risk of fires. The Mistral wind is expected to blow at around 65 km/h today.
The closures follow the outbreak of a number of intense forest fires over the weekend, which saw over 400 hectares of land destroyed in Hérault alone. Blazes sprung up close to the prefectural capital Montpellier.
Read more: Wildfires in France: less destruction in 2024 but plea for more resources
Where can I find these warnings?
Prefectures in southern departments provide daily updates on which areas will be closed to the public due to the risk of forest fires.
These are generally given the evening before (i.e, closures today were announced yesterday evening) via a communiqué de presse.
To find if your department has issued any closures, you can do an internet search with its name plus ‘communiqué presse’.
This should take you to the department’s official website, where you can find the most recent updates.
The closures are often accompanied by maps or a colour-coded level of which areas are facing the highest risk.
Local warnings come in five levels:
Green: access to forested areas, and works (travaux), are authorised.
Yellow: access to forested areas is authorised, and works are permitted subject to approval of the site manager
Orange: entry into forested areas is not recommended and works are prohibited, unless an exemption is granted
Red: access to forest areas in the zone is forbidden outside ZAPEF locations (Zones d’Accueil du Public en Forêt, forest public access zone) and works are forbidden unless an exemption has been granted.
‘Extreme’ red (Couleur rouge Extrême): all access to and works in forest areas are prohibited. Extreme vigilance is required if you are in the area
State forecaster Météo France however also has a general ‘national’ warning system, which gives four levels of warnings on the risk of forest fires at a departmental level.
It is available up to two days in advance, and gives a warning level of low, moderate, high, or extremely high to each department.
Today, all of the departments listed above that have closed off forested areas are facing a ‘high’ risk, as well as Gard and Drôme.
Tomorrow however will see warning levels drop due to the weather forecast.
In the south-west – Gironde, Dordogne, and the Lot – some warnings will come into effect, however.
You can find the map on the Météo France website.
Forests are closed to the public when wildfire risk is high because the presence of people in these locations greatly increases the likelihood of a blaze starting.
Authorities believe around 90% of fires are caused by human activity, whether intentional or accidental.
Read more: Alert over fire risk in French forests as most blazes caused by people
