A few kilometers from Landiras, where one of the two extraordinary fires that devastated the Girondin massif started on July 12, the smell of burning remains.
Along the roads, a few leafy trees still standing remind us that hectares of moors and pines have been blackened by the flames.
Faced with the 20,800 hectares gone up in smoke, donations are pouring in, says the National Forestry Office (ONF), which manages 10% of the Landes de Gascogne massif, including state or communal forests.
"A private individual even offered us three large yews to replant the forest", says Éric Constantin, his regional delegate, touched by the proposal, "even if it is still early".
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For the time being, the urgency is to clear the burned woods and to take stock of the damage because after the ravages of the flames, “it is a medical race which begins for the trees still standing”.
Bark beetles, parasitic insects, take advantage of the weakness of the trees to attack them.
“We will have to act quickly to avoid a second wave of damage,” warns Éric Constantin.
The online kitty "Acting for the forest", which already existed before the fires in Gironde, is not intended to compete with aid to private forest owners, he underlines: "We offer a receptacle to individuals who asked where to donate.
According to the ONF, more than 300,000 hectares of French forests have withered away following fires, storms or pest invasions since 2018.