Inland Var (Provence Verte) destination risk · checked against official sources 16 August 2026 at 09:47 UK time

Inland Var (Provence Verte) Wildfire Risk: Should I Travel?

A fire that had died down in the hills of inland Var flared up again on 31 July. The evacuations are over and the last people were allowed home on 2 August, but the fire is still active, three departmental roads around Correns and Le Val are still cut, and four of the nine forest massifs are still closed.

Short answer: If you are booked into a village or campsite in the Provence Verte triangle between Barjols, Cotignac, Correns and Le Val, contact your accommodation before you set off. Nobody is still evacuated, but three approach roads are closed and a satnav will happily route you down them. The coastal Var, including Hyères, Saint-Tropez and Fréjus, has not been hit by this fire and beach holidays there are running normally. What affects the whole department is forest access, which is decided day by day, so walking, cycling and vineyard trails inland may be off limits at short notice. There is also an order in force until 8am on 5 August banning fuel cans and gas lighters anywhere in the Var.

Open the relevant wildfire map Read France travel advice Campervan checks

Active fire: Gros Bessillon fire, inland Var. Full incident page and official sources →

What is happening

A fire that started at Pontevès on 21 July, was declared contained on 28 July and broke out again on 31 July burned across seven communes in the Provence Verte triangle: Pontevès, Correns, Cotignac, Carcès, Montfort-sur-Argens, Châteauvert and Barjols. The préfecture declared it fixé on 7 August and maîtrisé on 11 August, 22 days after it started. It is not out, and the préfecture has published nothing newer about the fire itself: its numbered points de situation still end at number 56 of 7 August. What it has published since is recovery work. On 14 August it set out how the burnt communes will be made safe, and the same day it passed on health advice for people cleaning ash out of their homes. The evacuations are over: the last protection measures at Correns were lifted on the evening of 2 August. Most of the sector was handed back to traffic on 11 August. The RD45 between Châteauvert and Correns is the exception, reported shut day and night until 21 August. The coastal Var was not touched by this fire.

What it means if you are travelling

If your booking is inland, between Barjols, Cotignac, Correns and Le Val, ring the property before you drive. Everyone who was evacuated has been allowed home. Most of the sector reopened on 11 August, and farm machinery and fire vehicles are sharing those roads through the harvest, so take them slowly. The RD45 between Châteauvert and Correns is reported closed day and night until 21 August, with the diversion running through Le Val by the RD554, the RD562 and the RD22, so a satnav short cut across that valley will not work. If your booking is on the coast, from Hyères round to Fréjus, this fire is not near you. The department-wide question for everyone is forest access, which is decided fresh each evening for the following day. For Sunday 16 August the Sainte-Baume, the Haut-Var, the Maures, the Centre-Var and the Estérel are reported at severe risk, where access is discouraged and work stops at 1pm, and the other four massifs at moderate. Nothing is closed. Read the day's map before you set off rather than trusting yesterday's answer. The prefectural order banning the retail sale of fuel in cans and the carrying of gas lighters across the Var expired at 8am on 8 August and no extension has been published.

What is still disrupted in Inland Var (Provence Verte)

Checked against Préfecture du Var, points de situation no. 46, 47 and 48 on 2026-08-04. Conditions change daily during and after a fire, and the source below is the authority.

Reopened: Correns: everyone allowed home. The préfecture's bulletin no. 46 of 2 August at 9pm lifted the last protection measures for the commune. Residents who had been evacuated as a precaution were able to go home and the shelter-in-place order for the village centre was lifted. Bulletin no. 48 on 3 August recorded the first day in fourteen with no evacuation or confinement anywhere. (as of 2026-08-03)
Reopened: Montfort-sur-Argens residents allowed home. The préfecture authorised residents of Montfort-sur-Argens to return on the evening of 1 August. (as of 2026-08-01)
Still closed: A campsite near Correns was evacuated. Reports of at least one campsite evacuated by FR-Alert alongside residential neighbourhoods on 31 July. The préfecture lifted the last protection measures at Correns on 2 August but has not published a site-by-site list, so this one is not separately confirmed as reopened. Contact your site directly. (as of 2026-08-04)
Still closed: RD45 between Châteauvert and Correns. Closed from Châteauvert to Correns as far as the RD554 junction, per the préfecture's 3 August bulletin. The RD45 from Correns down to the RD562 is open. (as of 2026-08-03)
Advice in force: RD554 on the Le Val to Barjols link closed. The 3 August bulletin lists the RD554 closed from the RD562 junction at Le Val to the RD45 junction at Châteauvert. The RD13 no longer appears on the closure list. (as of 2026-08-03)
Partly open: RD13 between Cotignac and the RD560. Cut at the Les 4 Chemins junction on 1 August; partial reopening reported on 2 August. (as of 2026-08-03)
Reopened: RD562 between Carcès and Le Val reopened. Listed as open in the préfecture's 3 August bulletin, having been closed over the weekend. (as of 2026-08-03)
Partly open: Motorway service areas on the A8 and A57. Several rest areas closed as a precaution. The motorways themselves were not reported closed by this fire. (as of 2026-08-03)
Still closed: Forest massifs closed to the public. Four massifs are closed to the public on the map published for 4 August: Sainte-Baume, Haut-Var, the Maures and Centre-Var. Canjuers and the Estérel are at orange, where access is discouraged rather than banned. The Monts Toulonnais, the Corniche des Maures and the Îles d'Hyères are back at yellow and open to walkers. The map is redrawn every evening before 7pm for the following day. (as of 2026-08-04)
Advice in force: Préfectoral order on fuel and lighters extended to 5 August. The order banning the transport of fuel in portable containers and the carrying of gas lighter type lighters outside the home runs until 8am on Wednesday 5 August. Gendarmes are checking. The préfecture said an east south easterly wind was expected to rise during the afternoon of 3 August, keeping the risk high. (as of 2026-08-03)
Still closed: RD22 closed in two sections. Listed as closed in two sections in the préfecture's point de situation no. 48 of 3 August. (as of 2026-08-03)

Préfecture du Var, points de situation no. 46, 47 and 48 →

Free destination checks

Your accommodation

Ring the campsite, gîte or hotel directly and ask whether they are currently open and reachable. Nobody in the Var is still evacuated, but a property can be open and still hard to get to.

Forest access for the day

The Var préfecture publishes a map each evening showing which forest massifs are open, restricted or shut the next day. Four are closed on Tuesday 4 August: Sainte-Baume, Haut-Var, the Maures and Centre-Var.

Local roads

Three departmental roads around the fire are still closed on 3 August: the RD45 from Châteauvert to Correns, the RD22 in two sections between Cotignac, Montfort-sur-Argens and Le Val, and the RD554 between Le Val and Barjols. Check before relying on a satnav route across the hills.

FR-Alert on your phone

Evacuations here were ordered by FR-Alert text. Foreign mobiles do receive it, so keep your phone on and charged if you are staying inland.

Nearby alternatives to compare

Coastal Var and the Gulf of Saint-Tropez,Beaches, ports and seafront towns are away from the fire and operating normally, though inland walking trails behind them may be closed on high-risk days.
Aix-en-Provence,Close enough to keep the same holiday, far enough from the fire zone, and a town-based trip does not depend on forest access being open.
The Luberon, Vaucluse,The same hilltop-village and vineyard Provence, in a neighbouring department that has not been affected by this fire.

Active fire in Inland Var (Provence Verte)

Inland Var (Provence Verte) 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.

Sources used for this page

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.