With already more than 47,000 hectares burned since the start of the year, France experienced a record number of burned areas in July, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). Tuesday, August 9, four departments are still the prey of fires due to an exceptional drought. We take stock of the situation.
Between Lozère and Aveyron, nearly 3,000 evacuations and 700 hectares traveled
About 3,000 people, residents of the town but also people who were staying in the Gorges du Tarn campsites, were evacuated overnight from Monday to Tuesday due to the ongoing fire in Mostuéjouls, in Aveyron, indicate Tuesday morning the firefighters of Aveyron. 1,200 were sheltered for the night, specifies the prefecture of the department on Twitter.
This is the same forest fire which broke out on Monday in the town of Massegros Causses Gorges, in Lozère, and which spread to Aveyron, covering 700 hectares of vegetation, three quarters of which are located in Aveyron.
600 firefighters are on site to fight the fire which is not yet fixed. Additional air resources, three Canadair from Gard, arrived in the area as reinforcements. “People evacuated to the town of Mostuéjouls or Rivière-sur-Tarn must stay safe: no return home possible until further notice”indicates the prefecture of Aveyron.
In Maine-et-Loire: 600 hectares burned, 500 threatened
A fire, which broke out in the north of Maine-et-Loire on Monday afternoon, has already burned 600 hectares of vegetation in the Pugle massif, in Baugé-en-Anjou, the department prefecture announced on Tuesday. In the morning, the fire was still not under control and 500 additional hectares are directly threatened. The firefighters did not “no certainty” to manage to contain the fire during the day, indicates to franceinfo a commander who leads the operations on the spot. 317 firefighters and 107 vehicles are engaged, including inter-departmental reinforcements. A civil security Dash plane is also at work.
2/2 The firefighters of the @SDIS_49 fight the flames and the reddish smoke. 200 hectares have already been burned in the Pugle forest in the @Maine_et_Loire at the limit of @sarthefr
@F3PaysdelaLoire @F3Center #fire #forests pic.twitter.com/7GMaNOkhVa
— Benoit Bruere (@Benoit_Bruere) August 8, 2022
One of the difficulties is that the fire very quickly reached the Beauregard demining camp on Monday afternoon, where World War II ammunition and shells are kept. Heat-induced bangs prevented firefighters from taking action in the area as the fire rapidly grew in virulence. This material will be an additional difficulty when extinguishing residual fires when the fire is controlled, added the commander.
In Isère, more than a hundred hectares burned
In Isère, the fire which broke out in the foothills of the Chartreuse on Friday evening, after a lightning strike, “progress slowly”, said the prefecture in a press release on Tuesday morning. He has now traveled “a little over a hundred hectares”.
380 firefighters are mobilized with 92 devices, including “air resources”. Five reinforcement columns from the departments of Rhône, Savoie, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier and Cantal are supporting the staff of SDIS 38, as well as airborne firefighters from the Bouches-du-Rhone.
the #GIFF 74 in action on the #fire from Voreppe – La Buisse #Isere alongside the @sdis38 and many other Sdis who came as reinforcements #ForestFires #Firefighter #Cohesion pic.twitter.com/xlFUg7GA9V
—SDIS 74 (@SDIS_74) August 9, 2022
“We do not deplore any injuries at this stage among the population. Three firefighters were slightly injured in intervention”, adds the prefecture. No homes or businesses are currently threatened. Around 170 people were evacuated from the Malossane, Les Balmes and Le Bourget hamlets in the town of Voreppe. The hamlets Les Barniers-Les Côtes de La Sure-en Chartreuse were asked to evacuate their homes as a preventive security measure from Sunday. The inhabitants were rehoused mainly with their families. 30 additional houses were evacuated on Monday in the Balmes sector due to falling burning plants.
In Charente, nearly 150 hectares of forest destroyed
Nearly 150 hectares of forest were destroyed in a fire that broke out Monday evening in the town of Boisbreteau, in South Charente, said the prefecture of the department in a press release on Tuesday. The fire is not fixed and remains in development.
More than 220 firefighters are involved, including reinforcements from other departments of New Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire. Air assets are expected in the morning.
Thirty people were evacuated to the Boisbreteau village hall, adds the prefecture, while Enedis cut off two high-voltage lines which supplied around 200 homes.
#Fires : according to data #EFFIS600,000 hectares of #forests have already gone up in smoke in the EU this year. At the beginning of August, the area that burned in the region was already twice as large as the annual average measured between 2008 and 2020.
— Statista France (@Statista_FR) August 5, 2022