France: Wildfire on Gros Bessillon controlled after 18 days

Firefighters in southeastern France have managed to "fix" a major wildfire on Gros Bessillon in the Var department, bringing an end to its spread after more than two weeks. The blaze, which ignited on July 21, had consumed around 6,300 hectares, forcing the evacuation of nearly 5,000 people and destroying numerous homes. Authorities declared the fire "fixed," meaning its outward expansion has been halted, but cautioned that complete control and extinguishment will still take several more days. Around 450 firefighters remain on the scene, continuing their efforts and monitoring the affected forest areas. The fire initially covered about 4,500 hectares before its spread was declared stopped on July 28, only to reignite days later and spread across hundreds more hectares. The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, described it as the longest-lasting wildfire in the Var region on record. The risk of further fires remains high in southeastern France, with a heat warning of the second-highest level issued for the Var department. Elsewhere in France, another wildfire in the Drôme department, burning for five days, had scorched nearly 300 hectares of forest by Friday evening. Meanwhile, firefighting efforts are underway in other countries, including Serbia, where pine forests in a nature reserve near Deliblatska Peščara are burning, complicated by strong winds. In the United States, a firefighting helicopter crashed near a wildfire in Utah, with the status of its two occupants unclear.

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The fire at Gros Bessillon in the Var department is now officially 'fixed'.