Particle.news
Download on the App Store
11 ARTICLES
·
2mo ago

One ONF Agent Charged After Three Detained in Probe of Corbières Mega‑Fire

Prosecutors have moved the inquiry toward possible negligence that could carry criminal liability for individual forest rangers.

(Archives) [Idriss Bigou-Gilles / AFP]
Incendie dans l’Aude en 2025 : trois agents de l’ONF placés en garde à vue
"Que ce soit eux, c'est surprenant" : trois agents de l'Office national des Forêts pourraient être à l'origine du mégafeu meurtrier de l'été dernier dans l'Aude
Image

Overview

  • Three Office national des forêts (ONF) agents were placed in police custody earlier this week as investigators sought to establish how the August 2025 Corbières fire began.
  • On Thursday an ONF agent was formally charged (mis en examen) with aggravated involuntary destruction by fire and placed under judicial supervision while the two colleagues were released without charge for now.
  • Authorities are investigating human causes for the blaze, including questions about negligence and a reported hypothesis that a cigarette thrown from a patrol vehicle could have started the fire.
  • The probe has been led by judges and the regional environmental prosecutors in Montpellier after the file was transferred from Carcassonne, and officials stress the presumption of innocence for those involved.
  • The August 2025 fire burned roughly 16,000–17,000 hectares, destroyed homes and farm buildings, killed one resident, and left lasting economic and landscape damage that local communities continue to feel.