Fires: clearing brush to save lives

In the Var, brush clearing is a legal obligation. On the reliefs of the massif of La-Garde-Freinet (var)there are thousands of hectares to maintain. Given its size, the task is often entrusted to professionals. “Priority is put on the brushwood”launches the mayor to an employee. He is on the lookout for the slightest piece of land left fallow. For him, cleaning the surfaces around homes allows them to be protected in the event of a fire. “We see the usefulness because these are neighborhoods that have been impacted by fires in 2021. (…) Around each dwelling, you have a circle that forms. This circle is the fuel cut”he explains.

In 2021, a fire killed two people

Indeed, in August 2021, a fire ravaged 7,000 hectares of the massif. Thirty houses were burnt down. Two people died there. So that day, the firefighters need to remember that clearing brush saves lives. “The overwhelming majority of homes that were impacted by the fire did not comply with legal clearing obligations”justifies the head of the communication department of the SDIS of the Var. In this area used to fires, the municipalities can verbalize the recalcitrant.