Thriving thanks to global warming, fires are more numerous and gaining intensity each year. As the summer season approaches, the government presented this Wednesday, June 12, its system to combat forest fires in force this summer.
Civil Security explains that this strategy aims to “prevent fires from starting, control outbreaks at the initial stage, limit catastrophic fires and rehabilitate burned areas“, further announcing that “civil security forces are reinforced” this summer. Thus, nearly fifty “forest fire reinforcement columns” will be deployed in risk areas throughout the national territory, in addition to the forces already on site. The zoning of these reinforcements has not been specified and the deployment on Corsica will be known later.
More than anything, this device aims to “attack fires as soon as possible“, that is to say in the first ten minutes following their hatching and before they burn an area of 1 hectare.
According to Civil Security, only 30% of fires concern more than ten hectares of vegetation. Another figure showing “the effectiveness of the strategy“for fighting against forest fires put in place each summer: 9 out of 10 fires cover less than one hectare of vegetation.
“Forest fires are not inevitable”
In addition, this system is accompanied by a prevention campaign intended “to the French and to tourists”, already underway since last month and expected to intensify in the coming weeks. The benefit of prevention and awareness lies in an observation made each year: 9 out of 10 fires are of human origin. “Forest fires are not inevitable“, insists the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which lists the good and bad gestures.
In the event of a risk of fire, prefects may prohibit smoking in woods, forests and their surroundings. Unsurprisingly, the firefighters are calling for “never do” barbecues in the countryside as well as finding out about the regulations relating to fireworks.
Forests are dying more and more
Prevention is all the more fundamental as the outlook is alarming: intensification of fire risks in historically affected areas – including Corsica -, extension of risks across the entire territory, lengthening of the fire season, etc.
This appalling picture is combined with another marker of the vulnerability of French forests: they are increasingly declining. Impacted, among other things, by successive heat waves, their state of health continues to deteriorate. Dieback today concerns an average of 670,000 hectares of French forests, compared to 300,000 in 2018. This progression “extremely strong” implies a “increased risk of fire“, notes the Ministry of Agriculture.
In addition to the prevention campaign in force this summer, Météo-France is renewing its “forest weather” for the second time, available online since June 3. “It is developed based on observed and forecast weather conditions.” explains the public agency, taking into account temperature, humidity, rain and wind. In order to have “one more card coherent“, the forecasting organization announces that it has “slightly modified the algorithm”. This will aim to better assess the level of risk.for the Mediterranean Arc”a region characterized both by forest areas highly exposed to fire risk and by areas of relief less often impacted.
