“We have indicators which are not good and which let us predict a difficult summer”, fears a firefighter

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“We have indicators which are not good and which let us predict a difficult summer”, feared Sunday June 12 on franceinfo Colonel Jérôme Bonnafoux, spokesman for the firefighters of Hérault, who had to send reinforcements to control the fire of Ornaisons where 80 hectares were destroyed on Friday. In the Alpes-Maritimes another fire ravaged 12 hectares, in Spéracèdes, before being fixed by the firefighters on Saturday late afternoon.

franceinfo: Does the moment seem particularly risky to you given the temperatures and the dryness of the soil?

Colonel Jerome Bonnafoux: What we can observe from the Mediterranean coast and well beyond is that we are ahead in terms of drought compared to other years, which means that we have indicators that are not good and which let us predict a difficult summer.

“In firefighting we have what is called the rule of three 30s: that is to say that when we have a humidity level in the air below 30%, a temperature above 30 degrees and a wind greater than 30 km / h, we know that we are going to have fires.

Colonel Jérôme Bonnafoux, spokesperson for the Hérault fire brigade

at franceinfo

This is what happened in Ornaisons and yesterday in the Alpes-Maritimes. So we are quite worried about the coming season. We are all the more worried that we are also experiencing the difficulties that we have today in emergencies. The closure of emergencies gives us more work since it takes to transport victims further to hospitals. And that creates problems for us with the availability of manpower and therefore with resources, since resources are needed to put out the fires.

But fire starts in reality there are constantly?

Yes, today we have 15 fire starts per day in the department of Hérault, 459 since the beginning of the year, In the departments of southern France such as Hérault, the forest fire has become a common risk. So we have a specific follow-up. We have services that, all year round, prepare for forest fires. But in addition, we had rains that were quite late. So the grass has grown and, with the heat coming, it dries up and increases the risk of fire. Hence the need to clear and maintain when near forests.

Especially since with weekends like this, of course, we want to go and have fun in nature. Is this where you have to be very careful of the risk of fire?

Exactly, some departments, such as Bouches-du-Rhône or Var, prohibit access to forest areas when the risk is high.

“Every day in the south of France, we have a risk map that is made, which goes from a low risk to a very severe risk.”

Colonel Bonnafoux

at franceinfo

And it is this mapping, now published via social networks by the prefectures and firefighters, which allows people to see if there is a significant risk in relation to fires.


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