Which 91 municipalities are affected by bush clearing in Aveyron?

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Clearing brush is part of the legal obligations for individuals. And in this area, Aveyron is particularly concerned. A new national awareness campaign has been broadcast since October 21 until December 15, 2024.

This is “an ideal period to carry out brush clearing work”, underlines the prefecture in a press release. Because risks exist if these obligations are not respected. France, but also Aveyron, know something about it…

1,300 ha of forest destroyed in southern Aveyron in 2022

Thus, in recent years, fires of unprecedented scale have ravaged several European countries. France was not spared. In southern Aveyron, the summer of 2022 was marked by the Mostuéjouls fire with 1,300 ha of forest destroyed, the most devastating.

In Aveyron, 91 municipalities most exposed to forest fire hazards are subject to Legal Clearing Obligations (OLD), mainly in the south and west of the department. To find out the municipalities concerned, go to: ici.

To prevent this danger, clearing brush around homes, roads and other installations or equipment is the best protection.

90% of the houses destroyed during forest fires were located in areas that were not or poorly cleared. “Clearing bushes around your home means creating a safety belt in the event of a forest fire, with the aim of protecting your loved ones, your property, biodiversity, your living environment and facilitating emergency response,” recalls the prefecture.

What is clearing?

This consists of creating a horizontal and vertical discontinuity between plants in order to limit the spread of fire. Clearing brush, these are 9 essential actions:

• cut bushy vegetation;
• cut the branches in contact with your house, or even the trees themselves if they are too close (putting them at a distance);
• prune retained trees;
• remove shrubs under trees;
• cut plants close to buildings, do not use plant mulch for paths, etc. ;
• limit the volume of hedges and keep them away from buildings;
• clean the gutters and remove leaves and pine needles;
• move wood reserves and any other fuel stocks away from buildings;
• take care to remove plant residues.

To find out more, you can consult this page.

What are the penalties for non-compliance?

If you do not respect the legal obligation to clear brush, your wallet will take a hit… The mayor or prefect can order you to do so. The mayor can decide on a penalty of €100 maximum per day of delay. The total amount of sums required is a maximum of 5,000 euros, informs the site Service-public.

The municipality may also impose an administrative fine of up to €30 per m² not cleared. In addition, you risk a criminal fine of €1,500.

If the fact that you did not clear brush allowed the spread of a fire which destroyed someone else's property, you can be sentenced to up to one year's imprisonment and a fine of €15,000. .

If this concerns your home, your insurer may apply an additional excess of a maximum amount of €5,000.

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