in Gironde, the damage caused by the fires is still clearly visible, a year later

The Teste-de-Buch forest is still sparse, filled with branches and ashes. A year ago, the Gironde ignited over nearly 30,000 hectares, the fire devouring everything in its path. If his home was saved thanks to the intervention of the firefighters, a large part of Jérôme Blanc’s garden was devastated. “It was very difficult, the landscape has completely changed”, he tells France 2, Tuesday, July 11. Not far from his home, a restaurant beach and a house could not be saved and five campsites still bear the traces of the fires.

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On the forest side, 1,500 hectares are still closed to the public. In the summer of 2023, young pines emerge from the ground next to the charred stumps. “We are in the process of evaluating the amount of natural regeneration. It will take at least 30 or 40 years before we find a little of the landscape that was there before.before July 2022″, explains Francis Carre, technician at the National Forestry Office (ONF). The presence of bark beetles, favored by the flames, also worries the experts: “These are insects that dig galleries under the bark. Eventually it ends in death. of the tree”describes Adrien Faller-Pondardtechnician at the ONF.