A fire broke out on Tuesday in the early afternoon in the town of Générac, a few minutes’ drive south of Nîmes, in the Gard department.
At 8 pm, the fire was still burning, and the fire service reported that 300 hectares had been ravaged by the flames. An exceptional phenomenon – visible from a great distance, impressive and extremely rare – has occurred. Find out what it is and All our explanations here.
Large-scale evacuations
No fewer than 465 firefighters have been deployed to the area, alongside eleven water-bombing aircraft from the French Civil Protection service. A mobile command post has been set up by the Gard fire service.
According to our colleagues at Midi Libre, 150 people whose homes were directly threatened by the fire have been evacuated as a precaution. Around 100 officers from the National Gendarmerie are on the scene.