Wildfire scar in southern France
Summertime is on at the Cote d'Azur, but warming temperatures and clear skies can also have dangerous consequences. Due to the wet spring and dry summer, the dry biomass of undergrowth is unusually high, increasing the risk of wildfires. South of Vidauban near St. Tropez, an intensively burning wildfire was reported, which has destroyed over 600 hectares as of 12 June. The intensity of the fire is unusual so early in the season, suggesting that the risk for further fires later during the season is high.
On this Sentinel-2 near-infrared false colour image, healthy vegetation is bright red while dry or stressed vegetation has less intensive colour. Agricultural areas and grasslands along the river valleys show as lines of red, while the dryness of vegetation on the hillsides causes the greyish hue visible over most of the image. The burn scar southwest of the village is visible in black. Sentinel-2 takes images around 10:00 local time every day, so the burnt area has not yet reached the size reported when the blaze reported to be finally under control. The bright red stripes north of the burn scar are dense - probably irrigated - vegetation belonging to a golf course.
