In Finistère, a region usually spared by forest fires, 2,200 hectares of vegetation went up in smoke on the Monts d’Arrée in July 2022. Enough to strengthen vigilance and prevention around the site for the years to come.
A year later, the Montagne Saint-Michel and its chapel, symbols of the Monts d’Arrée in Finistère, still bear the scars of the fires. Of the approximately 2,200 hectares burned from July 18, 2022, or around 20% of this Natura 2000 site, the largest set of Atlantic moors in France, there remain a few charred trees or blackened earth. The heather and ferns have almost disappeared and the greenery is struggling to regain ground.
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Even a year later, the same emotion dominates in Nicolas, “sadness, a lot of sadness“. This resident of Saint-Rivoal, nearby, believes that “turning the page will take time. Me, I remember seeing the pink mountain at the level of the chapel. This pink has disappeared, unfortunately we see other colors. It will come back, but these are things that will be missing for a few more years.”
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Everyone remains very marked by last summer and fears new fires. “The month of June was hot and dry, so we tell ourselves that it may happen again more and more often.“, confirms Marie-Hélène, also a resident of Saint-Rivoal for 37 years. “We need to be more vigilant and global warming will surely not help to improve things.“, she continues.
Clearing and pruning projects
The risk is now well integrated by the mayor of the municipality. “Clearly there is awarenessnotes Mickaël Toullec. Those who didn’t believe in climate change, now I think they are pretty sure now.“The city council has also launched new projects to prepare for a return of the flames, explains the elected official: “We have carried out collective works of brush clearing and pruning of paths to be able to provide easier access to remote places“.
“We have identified volunteers who are ready to help the town because we realized that we were not prepared last year, especially in welcoming residents who were evacuated.”
Mickaël Toullec, Mayor of Saint-Rivoalat franceinfo
Firefighters will benefit from new resources this summer, including a water bomber helicopter. For Comptroller General Sylvain Montgénie, head of the Finistère firefighters, vigilance must be the same as in the south of France: “We will be able to put lookouts on the ground, we will also be able to put a preventive intervention detachment, namely vehicles to turn and to be able to attack as quickly as possible when we are in a severe period of forest fire.“.
For now, the summer of 2023 seems more lenient than the previous one. Exactly one year ago, at the start of the fires in the Monts d’Arrée on July 18, 2022, Finistère was placed on heatwave red vigilance, with peaks at 40 degrees.