Southern France Wildfires Brought Under Control as Hotspots Still Burn

Overview

• A large fire that started on Wednesday near Oupia in the Hérault spread quickly into the Aude and burned roughly 800–900 hectares before crews began to contain it.
• By the morning of July 2 officials said the main Hérault–Aude blaze was fixed but its left and right flanks and some hot spots remained active with about 800 firefighters still on scene.
• Separate blazes north of Marseille at Lançon‑Provence and Rognac required major responses, forced hundreds of evacuations and prompted SNCF train suspensions and road closures near industrial sites.
• Fire services and officials blamed a dangerous mix of prolonged drought, record heat, strong winds and debris left by February’s storm Nils for the rapid spread and hard fighting conditions.
• The government sent an interministerial crisis cell to Marseille, Météo‑France keeps several Mediterranean departments at very high fire risk, and authorities warn pressure on emergency capacity may rise as the season continues.