The fire that broke out near Marseille has reached enormous proportions, with French authorities reporting that the firefighting effort is being made difficult by strong winds reaching up to 70 kilometers per hour.
Marseille Mayor Benoit Payan told BFMTV that around 720 firefighters and more than 220 vehicles were involved in the firefighting effort. All residents are advised to stay in their homes and not leave, the mayor stressed.
🔴🇫🇷DIRECT – Le ciel n’est même plus visible à Marseille.#Incendie #Marseille
— Media Express (@media_express_e) July 8, 2025
⚠️🚒: La situation est critical près de #Marseille, où un #incendie de grande ampleur est en cours.🔥
⚠️🔥•Un violent #incendie s’est declared en fin de matinée et progresse rapidement, attisé par un #mistral particularly fort.
🚫 Les sectors des hauteurs de La #Castellane…
— vigiprevention_meteo (@VigipreventionM) July 8, 2025
The front began near the town of Les Pennes-Mirabeau north of Marseille. According to a local official, the fire reached the outskirts of the city of Marseille on Tuesday afternoon. The spread of the fire earlier led to evacuations of settlements and an estimated 10 buildings have been damaged so far.
ALERTE – Le feu des Pennes-Mirabeau prend de l’ampleur et atteint #Marseille !
Plus de 300 hectares ont brûlé.
Des personnes sont evacuées en urgence et d’autres confinées dans le 16ᵉ arrondissement The airport is closed until new order. Des habitations sont touchées. Des… pic.twitter.com/4gMr2WkNwJ— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrançaises) July 8, 2025
The municipality called on residents of the city's 16th arrondissement to stay indoors and asked them not to move around the streets so as not to obstruct the passage of fire trucks and other emergency services. Meanwhile, Marseille airport has been closed for the past few hours. A spokesman for Marseille airport said that planes have not been taking off or landing since midday and that some flights have already been diverted to Nice, Nimes and other regional airports.
📸 Image du jour : une partie de Marseille, en feu, aujourd’hui. (Frederic Munsch) #Marseille
— Infos Françaises (@InfosFrançaises) July 8, 2025
At the same time, changes and cancellations are also being made to train routes connecting Marseille with the rest of France. Train traffic was interrupted in the northern and western directions as a result of the fire.
Thick smoke has blanketed the city of Marseille with citizens reporting the smell of burning even in the center, in the old port.
