The government announced this Tuesday, October 15, the launch of a national campaign to remind people of the importance of clearing bushes, essential to preventing forest fires.
The campaign will be officially launched on October 21. The best way to protect vegetation from a fire, limit its spread and slow down its intensity, clearing is compulsory in certain departments. According to the Ministries of Ecological Transition, Agriculture and the Interior, this is in fact a legal obligation “for any owner of a building exposed to the risk of forest fire or at least 200 meters from it.
The government has therefore decided to recall this duty by launching a campaign to prevent forest fires. And for good reason, “90% of the houses destroyed or heavily damaged during the forest fires were located on land that was poorly or poorly cleared,” underlined during a press briefing Lionel Berthet, deputy head of the natural risks department at the General Directorate of Risk Prevention. In addition, more than 7,000 municipalities are concerned in France – the map of specific areas can be consulted on the Géoportail site – but this rule remains unknown.
“A house cleared of brush is a protected house”
The government will therefore create a dedicated site, jedebroussaille.gouv.fr, to explain good practices. The main rule: vegetation should not be in direct contact with homes. From January 1, 2025, new occupants of a concerned dwelling will also be informed of the brush clearance obligation, from the first visit.
“Clearing brush does not mean making a clear cut, it means breaking the continuity in the vegetation,” explained Christophe Chantepy, forest engineer at the ONF. “For example, remove shrubs located at the foot of trees, place them at a distance from each other, prune well to prevent the spread of flames.” “A house cleared of brush is a protected house,” added François Pradon, Chief of Staff of Civil Security. A major issue because according to him, among the machines mobilized for forest fires, half are dedicated to the protection of buildings, called sensitive point defense.
Cleared land and buildings thus less exposed would therefore make it possible to free up certain personnel “to directly attack the forest fire, it’s a virtuous loop”, he said.
The rainy weather, in particular, limited the number of fires in 2024, with 4,900 fires recorded for just under 4,800 hectares burned between June 1 and September 15, according to Civil Security. With climate change, however, authorities expect the risk of forest fires to intensify in the coming years.
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