2025 Corbières Massif wildfire
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| 2025 Corbières Massif wildfire | |
|---|---|
 View of the 2025 Corbières Massif Wildfire from the village of Montséret during the morning of August 6, 2025 | |
| Location | Aude, France |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 17,000 ha (42,000 acres) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 1 |
The 2025 Massif des Corbières wildfire was a major wildfire that began on August 5, 2025. It affected sixteen municipalities in the Corbières Massif, southwest of Narbonne, in the department of Aude, France.
Context
[edit]On August 5, 2025, the department of Aude was placed on "red alert" by Météo-France due to the "very high" risk of fire. Météo-France forecasted temperatures of 35 °C (95 °F) and winds of 60 km/h (37 mph), warning that "in a hot and dry atmosphere, with the tramontane wind, the danger of fires will be very high in Aude this Tuesday."[1]
This was the worst fire in over 50 years on the French Mediterranean coast according to a government database that lists wildfires in France since 1973.[2] It was also the second-largest wildfire in France since the 1949 Landes forest fire.[3]
Chronology
[edit]
The fire started around 4 p.m. on 5 August 2025 in the commune of Ribaute. The gendarmerie estimates that it is likely of human origin.[4] It then spread very rapidly to the southeast, fueled by a strong tramontane wind. Significant firefighting resources were deployed, including thirteen water bomber aircraft, specifically nine Bombardier CL-415s and four Bombardier Dash 8s belonging to the French state. It continued progressing, albeit slower, throughout the night.[5]
The fire was officially declared entirely extinguished by the Aude Prefecture on August 28, 2025.[6]
External links & internet documents etc.
[edit]- «Incendie dans l’Aude : les facteurs à l’origine d’un sinistre hors norme, en cartes et en graphiques», Geographical Analysis of the Causes and Dynamics of the Fire Event Based on Cartography and Geomatics by the French Newspaper Le Monde (in French/paywall) « Le Monde »
- «Personal perception of the 2025 august wildfire in the Corbières (Aude/Mediterranean France)», Critical reflections on the Corbières Wildfire 2025 including a short bibliography of regional fire ecology & geograpy in « Paysages: paysages et livres – Landschaften und Bücher – Landscapes and Books », 8 August 2025
References
[edit]- ^ "Vigilance rouge dans l'Aude, mardi 5 août, en raison du risque " très élevé " d'incendie". Le Monde. August 4, 2025. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
- ^ "Incendie dans l'Aude: François Bayrou déplore une "catastrophe d'ampleur inédite"". BFMTV. August 6, 2025. Retrieved August 8, 2025.
- ^ "Personal perception of the 2025 August wildfire in the Corbières (Aude/Mediterranean France)". paysages. 2025-08-08. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
- ^ "Incendie dans l'Aude : "Le feu est parti du bord d'une route, a priori", rapporte le porte-parole de la gendarmerie nationale". Franceinfo. 6 August 2025. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
- ^ Press, The Associated (2025-08-07). "France's largest wildfire in decades leaves a trail of devastation". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
- ^ "Le gigantesque incendie de l'Aude est déclaré éteint". France 24 (in French). 2025-08-28. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
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