With summer approaching, the risk of forest fires is more present than ever. Find out why clearing brush is essential to protect your home and how to do it effectively. Expert advice for a peaceful summer!
As the sunny days return and fire season quickly approaches, it is time to look at a simple but crucial action to protect your home: clearing brush. This operation, still too little respected in France, nevertheless constitutes an essential tool for fighting forest fires. Nearly 90% of the houses destroyed or damaged by the flames were poorly or not cleared of brush. Faced with this alarming observation, the government is launching a vast awareness campaign this Monday on legal clearance obligations (OLD).
Clearing bushes, a “safety belt” against fires
According to public authorities, clearing brush around your home allows you to create a real “safety belt” in the event of a forest fire. The objective is multiple: protect yourself and your loved ones, safeguard your property, facilitate emergency response and preserve your environment. A major challenge as climate change risks worsening the frequency and intensity of fires in the years to come.
Who is affected by the obligation to clear brush?
The obligation to clear brush applies in areas identified as at risk of fire, i.e. around 7,000 municipalities spread across 43 departments, mainly in the south of France, Corsica and the Atlantic coast. Any owner of a building located in these zones or within 200 meters of them is required to maintain the surrounding vegetation. With global warming, these perimeters could expand in the future.
How to proceed in practice?
Fall and winter are the ideal times for pruning and cutting brush, when the vegetation is at rest. Among the good reflexes to adopt:
- Remove all vegetation in direct contact with your home
- Break the continuity between the different strata of vegetation (trees, shrubs, grasses)
- Prune trees up to a height of 2 meters
- Space trees apart
- Remove shrubs under trees
- Collect dead leaves and plant debris
Maintenance must then be carried out in the spring to check that everything is in order before the summer season. Sometimes, this work can encroach on neighboring plots. In this case, you must inform your neighbors who can agree or do what is necessary themselves.
Reinforced sanctions in the event of non-compliance
To encourage owners to respect their obligations, fines have been increased. From now on, an individual who does not properly clear their land is exposed to a fine of up to €1,500. Furthermore, from January 1, 2025, any buyer of a property must be informed of the existence of an OLD.
“When a fire spreads very quickly and evacuation is no longer possible, the rule is to stay in your house. Clearing bushes then makes it possible to protect it effectively,” underlines a Civil Security official.
With climate change, fires are expected to increase in speed, intensity and unpredictability in the coming years. In this context, clearing brush is more essential than ever as an essential action to protect yourself from fire, protect your loved ones and facilitate the work of firefighters. An essential “safety belt” for a peaceful summer.
