North of Toulon, on the Broussan road, no one has forgotten the terrible fire which ravaged 1,500 hectares of forest in 1970, and in which two firefighters died. A stele, a little before the hamlet of Pomets, is there to remind us of this. Since the 1990s, the prevention of forest fires in the Toulon massifs has been greatly strengthened, in particular by imposing on owners and local residents a legal obligation to clear bushes (OLD).
“In Toulon, around 10,000 plots are affected, including 1,500 in the red zone”presents Aude Bouchut, responsible for controls among the populations. For example on the Chemin des Pomets in Revest. On this 1.7 km portion, 57 owners were asked to clear the way* within a 50 m perimeter around residential and business areas.
Fine of 200 euros
And beware of recalcitrants, the fine of 200 euros is rather dissuasive…”We sanction if it is necessary, warns Denis Gutierrez, municipal councilor responsible for civil security, prevention and risk management. But I trust collective intelligence because in the end, they are the ones who risk burning out!”
“Our goal is not to be repressive”assures Aude Bouchut. Moreover, in 2024, out of 190 inspections carried out, no reports were drawn up.
On the road up to Baou, many trees, intended to be felled, are marked with a cross. A row of cypress trees 15 meters high near a villa was completely razed. “The owners have taken their responsibilities, approves Denis Gutierrez. Multiply the height of the flames by three, or 45 meters, and the wall of fire would have been cataclysmic!”
“Scorched Earth”
“We do not decide to clear brush or cut trees at random. To avoid distorting the site, it is tree by tree”specifies Aude Bouchut. Except that, sometimes, the agents in charge of clearing the plots get carried away.
“The entrance to my property was literally ransacked. Trees cut down, terraces demolished, vegetation uprooted and earth turned over”denounces Christian de Bérail, owner of ten hectares on the Route des Pomets. A method rather “nag”which the town hall recognizes: “It’s clearing with a blade, a little crude, because the goal is to remove as much combustible mass as possible from the side of the road and around properties.”.
Goodbye partridges, owls, or rabbits who had found refuge in this “little corner of paradise”. “They also cut down the regrowth of almond and olive treesprotests the owner. The damage is worse than the hypothetical evil they wanted to fight (the fire)… they left behind them a panorama of scorched earth.”
“The company started work earlier than planned, so we were only able to warn the owner at the last minute. But the waste will be cleaned up and in the spring, everything will green up again”apologizes Emmanuel Kopp, at the Sustainable City Department.
And in order to strengthen fire safety, access to the Baou massif will soon be reinforced with the installation of retractable bollards and cameras, before summer 2025**. “All solutions are considered. In certain sectors, we will once again use eco-pastoralism, which is effective and costs the taxpayer four times less.” announces Denis Gutierrez, who recalls: “90% of fires have human origin, and 97% in uncleared areas..
*The amount of clearing work carried out in the last quarter of 2024, on municipal roads in the Vieux chemin des Pomets and Carraire du Collet Saint-Pierre sector, amounts to €23,472 including tax for nearly 3 km of road length.
**Supplies, work, installation and commissioning (€48,406) and connection via fiber over a 3 km distance (€88,560).
