A fire in undergrowth near the village of Bairols in the arriere pays of Nice is still burning today, some three days after it started. However, firefighters have said that good progress in extinguishing the blaze is being made. The SDIS in the Alpes-Maritimes said that yesterday 160 drops were made on the fire by water bombing aircraft and that reinforcements had arrived from the Var and Bouches-du-Rhone as well as from Marine firefighters. The fire is in a difficult to access rural area and no homes have been affected.
The Var prefecture has published an update on the drought in the department. It said that the severe water deficit observed for 2 years in the south-east of France has resulted in an exceptional drought in the Var, both in terms of its duration and its extent. It added that the drought has worsened in recent months with a particularly dry winter in the department. To date, of the 153 municipalities in the Var, 2 municipalities are on alert, 85 are on heightened alert, 43 on drought alert and 23 on vigilance.
Seven municipalities in the Var have been recognized as a state of natural disaster for floods and mudslides in 2023. The decree was published in the Official Journal today, 28 July, and affected inhabitants have 30 days from today to make a declaration to their insurance companies. Full details are available from the prefecture.
Traffic on the A8 motorway has been severely disrupted following an accident involving a heavy goods vehicle this afternoon between the Brignoles and Le Cannet-des-Maures interchanges. A truck which was traveling towards Italy, overturned o
