Wildfire Forces Evacuations in France but Tour de France Stage to Proceed with Reduced Access

A wildfire burning out of control in southwestern France forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from two dozen villages near the Spanish border. Tour de France organizers closed the third stage to spectators on Monday to give emergency crews road access, though the 195.9 km route itself will proceed with a sharply reduced team-vehicle convoy.

The stage begins in Granollers, Spain, and ends in Les Angles within 60 km of the worst-affected areas.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated on TF1 that conditions deteriorated again Monday morning, with strong winds forecast to push the flames further. The Trevillach blaze sits directly beside the stage-three route. On the Spanish side of the border the same fire burned 2,200 hectares, 97 percent of them inside the protected Les Gavarres natural area.

Catalan authorities reported the blaze stable late Saturday and said it should be fully extinguished during the week. Police arrested an employee of a contractor working for Catalonia's regional government on suspicion of starting the fire with an angle grinder beside a road.

In eastern Castellon province, a separate wildfire prompted the evacuation of 500 people after it entered the Sierra de Espadan national park.

Race director Christian Prudhomme said an exceptional fire calls for exceptional measures. "We invite the public not to come to the edge of the race or to the finish site," he added. Nearly 3,000 people were evacuated after a wildfire ignited near Perpignan on Thursday.

Jonas Vingegaard holds a narrow lead over reigning champion Tadej Pogacar in the general classification after Isaac del Toro won stage two on Sunday.