More than 1000 hectares ravaged by the flames, 2700 people evacuated in the night, sometimes extracted from their campsites and beaches by the sea and 1800 fire soldiers mobilized to fight against the voracity of a fire which "was advancing at the speed of" a tornado ”, according to a firefighter: Martigues experienced in the night of Tuesday to Wednesday the most devastating fire in Bouches-du-Rhône since the beginning of the summer. It must be said that between the drought, the wind and the scorching temperatures, the slightest spark is now conducive to the outbreak of fires.
Are the current climatic conditions favorable for fires in France?
ERIC MARTIN. Indeed, because the ground and the vegetation are very dry. Between January and July, France experienced the hottest period since the start of the measurements and we have just suffered the driest month of July for at least sixty years according to data from Météo France. The announced heatwave, which could last a week, will further accentuate the drought and therefore the conditions favorable to the start of fires.
More than 1000 ha went up in smoke near Martigues. Should we fear more mega fires in France?
The definition of a mega fire is an extraordinary fire that spreads very quickly, destroys immense areas and is difficult to extinguish like the one that occurred in November 2018 in California. It had caused 85 deaths and destroyed 61,000 hectares. We are obviously not in the same proportions in France.
Should the fire in a pine forest in Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the heart of the city, make us fear more recurring fires at the gates of cities?
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This is the whole issue of urban sprawl. More and more houses and housing estates are being built near forests, which increases the risk of fires starting because most of the time fires are of human origin and often linked to the carelessness of the inhabitants.
Will global warming increase the risk of fires starting?
As periods of drought are exacerbated by global warming and become longer, this at the same time increases the season of fires which are no longer confined to the Great South of France but can occur further north. Regions such as Nouvelle-Aquitaine or Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes are already affected more and more often.
VIDEO. Major fires ravage the Bouches-du-Rhône
How to prevent these fires starting?
By taking an example from what has already been done for years in the south of France. The owners of houses located in areas at risk of fire thus have the legal obligation to clear brush within a radius of 50 meters around their home. For our part, we have published a guide that specifies which types of plants it is best to plant around your home, because some shrubs and trees are more flammable than others. You should also know that mixed hedges slow the spread of fire.
It is also up to the public authorities to curb urban sprawl in forests in order to reduce the risk of man-made fires breaking out and to facilitate fire fighting. In addition, forest management that contributes to limiting dry vegetation likely to constitute fuel makes it possible to reduce the power of fires.
