DOn Sunday July 31, a fire destroyed 200 hectares of pine forest in the Gard, in the town of Aubais, south of Nîmes, causing a large plume of smoke which required the partial closure of the A9 motorway. The fire broke out around 3 p.m. along departmental road 12. Some preventive evacuations were in progress.
Fueled by the mistral and the tramontane, whose gusts amount to 60 km / h on dry ground, the fire progresses from 2.5 to 3 km / h. As a security measure, the A9, which serves Spain in particular, has been closed in both directions to traffic for about ten kilometers between Lunel and Gallargues. The fire does not impact the highway, but a significant release of smoke poses a risk to traffic.
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Four firefighters are injured. One of them, seriously injured, was evacuated to the Montpellier hospital center for burns. The other three, more lightly injured, were victims of a heatstroke following a reversal of the flames by the wind which partly destroyed their vehicle.
The Gard in “extreme danger” level
As a result, the A709 urban motorway has also been closed to traffic in both directions between Montpellier South (No. 30) and Montpellier West (No. 31), as a safety measure. There are currently 3 km of traffic jam towards Spain and 4 km of traffic jam towards Lyon. Five planes and a water bomber helicopter are in action. Reinforcements of firefighters from neighboring departments are also expected to help the 170 firefighters already mobilized. The Gard was placed on Saturday, for the first time this season, in “extreme danger” level for the risk of forest fire in the Gard Rhone area.