“This reinforcement of resources was necessary, but it will not be sufficient”, according to a specialist in forest fires

“This reinforcement of resources was necessary, but it will not be enough”, laments Wednesday April 12 on franceinfo Sébastien Lahaye, former firefighter and coordinator of European projects around fire management, the day after the announcement by the executive of the 2023 firefighting system. This government plan provides in particular to strengthen air resources and preposition in the South West. A measure that can allow, according to Sébastien Lahaye to “reassure operational services such as firefighters and elected officials” premises.

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But this forest fire specialist believes that this device omits an important factor, which is “the current drought”. “Given the current situation, we are not immune to very large fires again this summer, regardless of the number of aircraft deployed”, he explains. The dry state of the soil in France worries Sébastien Lahaye, who insists that fire starts can occur “not only in the South-West, but also in the South-East and sometimes even elsewhere on French territory”as we saw last summer with this impressive fire in the Monts d’Arrée, in Finistère.

“It is not because we added a few more planes in the South-West that this will solve the problem”, regrets the former firefighter. He also insists that there is also “a threshold effect from which there are no longer enough planes available to deal with the 10 or even 50 fires that start simultaneously”.

“Faced with the evolution of the risk, global warming and the presence of increasingly large populations at the interface of the forest, it is necessary to quickly strengthen the means of protection against fires”, launches Sébastien Lahaye. The former fire soldier therefore pleads for more “of prevention”. It also calls for addressing the issue “clearing, poorly applied today in France”.