Corbières region addresses recovery one year after massive wildfires

One year after the massive wildfire known as ‘the Ogre of the Corbières’ devastated the Aude department in Occitanie, local authorities and residents are focusing on recovery and memory preservation. The fire, which occurred in August 2025, destroyed over 17,000 hectares and resulted in the death of a 65-year-old woman in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.

As part of the departmental plan ‘The strength to reborn,’ the Aude Department commissioned the National Union of Local Development Actors (Unadel) to conduct ‘territorial listening’ sessions. These sessions involved over 120 interviews with residents and local stakeholders to create a sensitive portrait of the region. Key issues identified for future development include water management, agricultural transformation, tourism, renewable energy production, and landscape management.

Simultaneously, survivors are working to preserve the memory of the catastrophe. Residents have noted that as vegetation regrows, the tangible traces and intense memories of the disaster risk fading, prompting efforts to collect testimonies to ensure the impact of the fires is not forgotten.