With 12,000 hectares of state forests, the nine agents of the National Forestry Office are increasing the number of checks to avoid risky behavior. With the tourist sectors in their sights: the car parks located in the La Coubre forest, 5,000 hectares of woods between Royan and La Tremblade.
80% of fires are of human origin
To limit the risk of fire, it is forbidden to use a barbecue, a gas stove, or to smoke within a radius of two hundred meters around the woods. ONF agents distribute fines of 135 euros to holidaymakers who do not respect the rules. They also penalize vehicles that park in front of access roads reserved for firefighters. “The most common offense”, specifies Philippe Lequeu, technician at the ONF.
– Julien Morceli
– Julien Morceli
La Coubre forest equipped to deal with fires
“It must be said that we have a very well-equipped forest”, assures Dominique André, technician at the National Forestry Office. The wood is criss-crossed by dozens of access paths reserved for firefighters. -fire because they block the progression of flames in the event of a fire.The forest also has around twenty cisterns of 60 cubic meters of water, ready to supply the firefighters.Finally, control towers have been installed in the woods. 12 cameras are permanently connected to the emergency services. Compared to the Gironde, “we really have a fairly large network of infrastructures and equipment”, concludes Dominique André.