Fire in Gard: nine simultaneous fire outbreaks mobilize firefighters
Quick Look
- In July 2026, nine simultaneous fire outbreaks affected Gard, mobilizing 300 firefighters.
- Captain Patrick Laratta describes a very rapid fire, fought by counterfires, which destroyed 500 hectares in four hours and was only fixed after 24 hours.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The fire started half an hour before the firefighters intervened in Lédenon, in the north of Gard. Strong winds accelerated its spread despite counterfire attempts.
At the beginning of July 2026, at the Bessèges Fire and Rescue Center, in the north of Gard, Captain Patrick Laratta is on a war footing. The situation is unprecedented: nine simultaneous fire outbreaks took place in the department that day. The captain sent his team to Lédenon, where a fire had started half an hour earlier. "There, we leave until the fire is over. If things go well, we will return this evening. Otherwise, we will return tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
An hour's drive from the scene, a "very substantial" plume of smoke is already visible. “It is a little white in places, but mostly dark at the base. This means that the plants are distilling a lot and that the fire is progressing very quickly,” explains Patrick Laratta. The challenge of the operation is not only to “save the forest which will grow back” but above all, so close to the Nîmes metropolitan area, to “protect the populations”.
"When we see that, it's scary. Because if it's really the last coldest summer, that means the others will be even worse... we're not ready."
Captain Patrick Laratta, head of the Bessèges center (Gard)
in "Special Envoy"
Patrick Laratta has a very specific mission. In radio coordination with the COS firefighters, the commander of rescue operations, he will lead one of the three teams responsible for lighting counterfires. This technique used in the past by shepherds consists of lighting controlled fires so that the main fire no longer finds anything to burn.
It is 3:58 p.m., the team is progressing with ignition torches on a section of highway closed to traffic. But the fire, aided by violent winds, progresses too quickly, and they will have to retreat. However, the maneuver was not useless, “it broke his momentum a little”. “The goal,” explains the captain, “is that this fire does not degenerate.” It would therefore be necessary to "fix it before nightfall"... A little further away, where the flames have already passed, "there is nothing left, everything has burned" - except a seemingly uninhabited house, which is going up in smoke. In just four hours, 500 hectares burned. The fire will not be fixed until 24 hours later. Three hundred firefighters were mobilized to this fire.
Excerpt from “Volunteer firefighters, heroes out of breath?”, a report to be seen in “Special Envoy” on September 3, 2026.
Open Questions
- What was the exact origin of the nine simultaneous fire outbreaks?
- What measures will be taken to prevent such events in the future in Gard?
