In the burning news of the fire

In the memory of firefighters, foresters and journalists, we had never seen fires of such intensity. The Gironde was disfigured and bruised this summer. Valmir has met the reporters Mary Rouarch and Jules Brelaz of France Blue Gironde.

“What marks is the heat, the fire. It may seem naive to say this, but as soon as we arrive on site, we are taken by the heat of the flames”, Marie Rouarch, is one of the first journalists from France Bleu Gironde to arrive on the spot when the first inhabitants of Landiras, on the edge of the forest, are evacuated.

For several days and throughout the summer, the reporters will comment on the fire that is progressing and rub shoulders with the distress of the evacuated residents. Entire families who have lost everything. Women and men in a state of shock who testify mechanically at the microphone, as if they were in therapy, as if it was necessary to externalize the overflow of pain and incomprehension.

The word “nightmare” comes up often, the bad dream which induces an awakening phase which does not occur, the tragedy which does not happen only to others, and in the vocabulary of the victims, the devil appears, the fire is thus designated.

And the reporter must demonstrate his empathy and develop the ability to listen. In this painting, there are no interviewers and interviewees, there are men and women together, trying to grasp what remains to be understood. The fire, the devil, the red flames of hell that pose a danger to reporters. If the inhabitants were surprised in the privacy of their homes, the first reporters from France Bleu Gironde who arrive on the spot arrive with their equipment, and the management of the danger is just as important as in a theater of war.

Moreover, everything is reminiscent of a war front: the smell of burning, the charred forests, the charred houses, the distress of the victims, the impression of emptiness when crossing desert landscapes, the apprehension of danger. We can evolve on a ground which seems secure and when we do not expect it, the fire suddenly arises, without warning. Marie Rouarch makes it clear: the golden rule is not to travel alone, “We must follow the instructions of the firefighters”. A fire can very well cross a paved road in three seconds.

In such a journalistic exercise, “the main difficulty, emphasizes Jules Brelaz, is to find the right tone”. When the journalist arrived at Hostens at night, with the glowing light of the flames, the cries and tears of those being evacuated, he was gripped by horror. But how to report without lapsing into sensationalism, and at the same time, show the unthinkable? It is a balance to be found in the narrative and the construction of the reports.

And if the work of France Bleu Gironde has been praised by the entire profession, it is precisely for this attention to the fair measure of the drama, its causes, its consequences. Without forgetting the responsibility of a reference public service media, which must carry reliable information in real time. The image marked Jules and Marie.

A victim who had lost everything was in a corner with a France Bleu walkman and he was listening to the situation in real time. This victim was a listener who had won this position in a game organized by the radio, and that is all he had left.

“Our job, and this is the only positive point in all this darkness, is to be as close as possible to our listeners, especially in the hard knocks.”

Marie Rouarch, reporter for France Bleu Gironde

at franceinfo

And Marie Rouarch is convinced of it. Forest fire coverage is not over. We must therefore organize ourselves in advance.