From the Dune du Pilat to the Monts d’Arrée, from the Bouches-du-Rhône to La Hague: this summer again, the metropolitan territory is affected by numerous forest and vegetation fires. Fires that destroyed at least “25,000 hectares” vegetation since the beginning of summer in France, according to Commander Alexandre Jouassard, spokesperson for Civil Security and Crisis Management.
A phenomenon that does not surprise the firefighter, this development having been announced by forecasters from the Giec, but which surprises him by its “earliness”. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has announced that he will travel to Gironde this Wednesday. It should make announcements regarding the fight against forest fires.
“25,000 hectares gone up in smoke” in France while the fire season is not over
“At this stage, given the fact that several fires are not yet under control, it is complicated to draw up an assessment” says Alexandre Jouassard. “However, we can already say that, on the whole territory and since the beginning of the summer, the bar of 25,000 hectares consumed by forest fires has been reached” says the firefighter.
A number that is “higher than the toll of the fires recorded during the summer of 2021”adds Alexandre Jouassard, while the forest fire risk season is still in its infancy.
Gironde, Bouches-du-Rhône and Brittany as priorities, but “concerns” about fires in the rest of the territory
The attention of firefighters is currently focused “on the three hot spots of Gironde, Bouches-du-Rhône and Brittany” says the spokesperson. In Gironde, 37,000 people were displaced and more than 20,300 hectares went up in smoke in the forest fires of Landiras (13,300 hectares consumed) and La Teste-de-Buch (7,000 hectares).
In front of “the extent of this fire, Civil Security mobilized 2,000 men and women on site, which is considerable, and significant air resources” says Alexandre Jouassard. Firefighters, notably from Alsace, Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, Seine-Maritime and Eure, were deployed on site to try to control these fires.
In the Bouches-du-Rhône, a fire started on Thursday July 14 in the Montagnette massif, between Tarascon and Avignon, destroying 1,500 hectares. While the fire had been fixed by the firefighters on July 15, it resumed on Monday July 18, covering approximately 120 hectares in the town of Barbentane and leading to the evacuation of at least 800 people. At the end of the day on Monday, the fire was “under control”, according to the firefighters.
In Brittany, more than 1,700 hectares of vegetation have gone up in smoke since Monday in the Monts d’Arrée, in the town of Brasparts, in Finistère. 517 people were evacuated.
In addition to these three priorities, Commander Alexandre Jouassard expresses “worries” concerning fires linked to “harvest fires” particularly in Sarthe or Maine-et-Loire.
Very large fires in 1976 and 2003, but very early fires this year
Is the current situation exceptional? When asked the question, the firefighter reminds us that “1976 and 2003 were years marked by severe forest fires at the national level”. During these two summers, “more than 80,000 hectares have been destroyed by the flames” he indicates. “We hope to be able to stay away from this figure” tries to reassure the Commander.
But “which is unprecedented this year, analyzes Alexandre Jouassard, these are the temperatures recorded, the precocity of the fires in time and their globality on the territory”. Fires are thus recorded in many regions previously rather spared by this type of disaster, like Brittany for example.
Spain and Portugal in flames
He is “need to zoom out” he adds: not only must we observe what is happening at the national level, but “we must also look at the situation in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece”four European countries are also facing a heat wave and major fires.
In Spain, where the extreme heat wave has been raging for almost ten days, forest fires continued to rage on Tuesday, especially in the province of Zamora (northwest). According to regional authorities, nearly 6,000 people had to be evacuated because of the flames which destroyed several thousand hectares of meadows and forests.
In Portugal, more than 1,400 firefighters continued to fight the fires Tuesday morning. The two most worrying forest fires are in the far north of the country. One of them mobilized nearly 700 firefighters on Tuesday.
IPCC forecast arrives earlier than expected
“What we are currently observing does not surprise me” says the firefighter. “Predictions and maps of the evolution of fire risks produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted, due to climate change, more and more serious fires in areas hitherto spared” explains Alexandre Jouassard. “What is surprisingcontinues the commander, it is the speed at which certain events occur”.
The fire soldier believes that “in recent years, Civil Security has taken these forecasts into account” and sought to anticipate the risks, in particular by geographically repositioning the “pelicandromes”, these supply bases for the water bombers which allow the planes “to recharge and go back into intervention”.
Alexandre Jouassard adds that “other operational responses have also been put in place”in particular through the training of specialists in forest fires. “We have, in fact, sought to train specialists, for example in Seine et Marne, not only to help other areas often affected by fires, but also to anticipate new risks that could occur in this department” he explains.
A necessary European response
However, Commander Alexandre Jouassard considers that the response must be thought out at European level, via the establishment “of a European civil security base, in order to be able to help national air fleets”. It is also a question of developing prevention actions.
The firefighter pleads for the establishment in schools of a “Japan Day”a country considered to be at the forefront in terms of fire prevention, in order to improve “the population’s understanding of the risk”.