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WILDFIRES

Firefighters battle wildfires in southern France

A 22-hectare wildfire in southern France has been brought under control, but firefighters are still battling a separate forest fire near Avignon.

Published: 7 August 2023 11:25 CEST
Firefighters battle wildfires in southern France
Illustration photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZ / AFP

The fire broke out on Sunday in the Rognac area in Bouches-du-Rhône – the département that contains Marseille. A massive deployment of 360 firefighters and four planes were sent to the area and managed to bring the blaze under control on Sunday night.

A crisis unit has been set up at the mairie and locals are urged to follow the latest advice from local authorities.

The Bouches-du-Rhône département has been on red alert for wildfires for several weeks on the government’s new wildfire warning system – Météo des fôrets. Many massifs and natural parks in the area are closed to the public because of the high risk of fires.

MAP How to find wildfire alert areas

It is the latest blaze to hit southern France as high temperatures combined with a months-long drought combine to produce ‘tinderbox’ conditions that elevate the risk of fires.

In the early hours of Monday a wildfire was declared near Avignon, south east France, after a car fire spread to around 6,000 sq m of vegetation. Firefighters remain on the scene, which is close to the Chartreuse massif.

READ ALSO Do heatwaves cause wildfires?

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ENVIRONMENT

Why Bordeaux wine is under threat in France this year

Winemakers in the famous French Bordeaux wine region fear the weather conditions this spring may lead to a disastrous harvest.

Published: 10 May 2024 15:48 CEST
Why Bordeaux wine is under threat in France this year

It’s the second year in a row that mildew has threatened Bordeaux vines. Around 90 percent of vineyards were affected by mildew to some extent in 2023, according to the regional chamber of agriculture.

But this year, the fungus has appeared earlier than usual. “If the weather continues, it’s going to be a disaster,” one vineyard owner told regional newspaper Sud Ouest, as mildew threatens crops. “I’ve never seen mildew strike so early.”

In its latest plant bulletin, the Gironde Chamber of Agriculture underlines the “favourable climatic conditions for [mildew] development” and is pessimistic for the coming days, fearing an increase in potential risk.

In the end, the 2023 harvest was reasonable, helped by favourable August weather – though a heatwave towards the end of the month raised concerns over working conditions.

READ MORE: France to revise its Champagne-making area due to climate change

But last year’s outbreak and the weather so far in 2024 has brought the ‘mildew season’ forward in parts of the region. The Grand Libournais and Graves winegrowing areas are particularly affected, according to May’s Bulletin de Santé du Végétal for Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Winegrowers in the Blayais region, meanwhile, have noticed that mildew spread is erratic – but the expected return of rainy conditions in the early part of next week have prompted concerns that the fungus’s spread will only increase.

“There are abandoned plots, neighbours who haven’t pruned their vines or estates that have been unable to carry out an uprooting program because of the incessant rain,” one vineyard owner said.

Official figures suggest that some 2,000 hectares of vines are uncultivated in the Gironde alone. The Fédération Départementale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles insists that the real figure is much larger – with implications for the health of neighbouring cultivated vines.

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