“We are starting to get water from the sea, lakes, rivers”, explains the vice-president of the national federation of firefighters

While the fire risk is high in the south of France, firefighters “begin to fetch water from the sea, lakes, rivers”, explains Tuesday, May 9 on franceinfo the vice-president of the national federation of firefighters of France Eric Florès. They also identify “the areas where we will be able to store water”. “Drying levels in the southern zone are already above July 31 rates.”

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franceinfo: How are the firefighters in the Pyrénées-Orientales anticipating the coming summer?

Eric Flores: With regard to firefighters in general, we are anticipating this season with a real problem on water resources. Whether in the Pyrénées-Orientales or in other departments, we are beginning to manage water as a strategic stock. We are beginning to identify the areas where we will be able to store water, in cooperative cellars for example. Normally firefighters use water from fire hydrants which comes from water towers. But as it must be preserved, we are now looking for areas of raw water. We begin to fetch water from the sea, lakes, rivers…

Will air resources be sufficient for this summer?

Desiccation levels in the southern area are already above July 31 rates. Imagine the current alert level for vegetation. The Minister of the Interior announced twenty days ago already additional resources compared to last year. You never know if they will be enough. We managed to increase the number of air resources compared to last year. What is important is that it should be remembered that 90% of fire outbreaks are linked to human activity. We need to educate the population, remember very simple rules and perhaps further prohibit access to certain massifs.

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Are specific measures taken to reduce the risks?

What we remember is that there are already legal obligations in the department. For example, it’s very easy for us to protect a house that has been cleared versus a house that has not. When this is not the case, sometimes people will be asked to evacuate because the house is in danger of burning down. It is important. These are very simple things to do to prepare for a summer which, unfortunately, promises to be complicated with the current level of dryness.