France Roadtrip Wildfire Safety & Avoidance GuideBuy guide, £7
Satellite and forecast figures refreshed 5 August 2026 at 15:12 UK time. Wording verified against official sources the same day. Conditions change hourly during fires. National authorities are always right. In danger anywhere in the EU, call 112.

Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte destination risk · checked against official sources 5 August 2026 at 13:03 UK time

Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte Wildfire Risk: Should I Travel?

A forest fire above the wine village of Couchey, south of Dijon, burned through the Combe Vaulon from the afternoon of 29 July. The préfecture said the fire was fixed on the evening of 30 July, a flare-up on 2 August was brought under control the same afternoon, and a prefectural order still keeps the public out of the burnt ground.

Short answer: Dijon and the villages along the Côte are working normally and nobody was evacuated at any point. What is shut is the hillside itself. The préfecture has issued an order banning the public from the fire zone above Couchey to guard against another flare-up, so the woods and tracks in the combes behind the vineyards are out. If you are driving the Route des Grands Crus, the D122 at Couchey and the M122 at Marsannay-la-Côte were blocked by gendarmes while the fire ran on 29 July, and the préfecture has published nothing since about reopening them, so ask locally on the morning you travel rather than assuming. All eight forest massifs in the Côte-d'Or have been at severe fire risk since 26 July, which bans barbecues, braziers and any naked flame near woodland.

Open the relevant wildfire mapRead France travel advice

What is still disrupted in Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte

Checked against Préfecture de la Côte-d'Or, points de situation on the Couchey fire, latest dated 3 August on 2026-08-05. Conditions change daily during and after a fire, and the source below is the authority.

Préfecture de la Côte-d'Or, points de situation on the Couchey fire, latest dated 3 August →

Free destination checks

The burnt hillside is closed

A prefectural order bans the public from the fire zone above Couchey. Do not walk or cycle up to look at it. Crews have been back once already for a flare-up.

Your route through the villages

The D122 at Couchey and the M122 through Marsannay-la-Côte were closed during the fire and the préfecture has not published a reopening notice. Check with your accommodation or the mairie before relying on a satnav route across the Côte.

Fire risk across the department

All eight Côte-d'Or forest massifs have been at severe risk since 26 July. Barbecues of any kind, braziers, camp stoves, wild camping fires, garden burning and fireworks are banned, and so is smoking within 200 metres of woodland.

Smoke on a bad day

During the fire the préfecture told people in Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte to close windows and stop ventilation. If smoke rises again from the burnt ground, follow the same advice rather than driving over to see it.

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Active fire in Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte

Couchey and Marsannay-la-Côte has an active fire event: burning, spreading, or an evacuation in force. The summary above is the current picture; the linked incident page and official sources carry the live detail, and conditions can change faster than this page. Always follow local authorities.

Europe Fire Map is travel decision support, not an emergency service or an official incident feed. Conditions can change faster than this page. Follow local authorities, accommodation providers and emergency services first. In danger anywhere in the EU, call 112.

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