The prefect of Gironde defended, Thursday, September 29, the action of firefighters who faced large-scale fires during the summer, in response to criticism from affected forest owners.
"
We knew that some would do fire after fire, that's normal, but it's unfair, inaccurate and very unpleasant for our firefighters
," Fabienne Buccio told the press.
In recent weeks, representatives of the forestry sector have questioned the strategy deployed in the face of the fires which have ravaged some 30,000 hectares in the department, accusing the firefighters of having let the fires spread to protect only homes.
Read alsoIs the Gironde fire exceptional for the season?
“
Firefighters, here as elsewhere, attack the head of fire.
All the SDIS in France operate in the same way and noting the differences between them is nonsense
, ”replied the prefect.
“
We have priorities, we assume them and we respect them
”, she added, recalling that the fires had not caused any victims, an “
unexpected
” assessment, while the gigantic fire which had ravaged 50,000 hectares of forest in 1949 in the region caused 82 deaths.
"States General"
Present at his side, the boss of the firefighters of Gironde, Marc Vermeulen, underlined that out of 4400 exposed buildings, less than 1% had been destroyed.
In total, nearly 600 fire outbreaks were recorded during the summer and 48,000 people had to be evacuated.
The prefect also considered that "
the question of the status
" of the user forest in the town of Teste-de-Buch, where the first big fire occurred, "
must be asked
".
Even if there is no question of making it a production forest, developments are necessary there, for which the current status “
poses a problem
”, said the representative of the State.
A legal study must be launched to reform this ancestral and unique status in France, with rights of use granted to inhabitants residing for at least ten years in the territory.
Read alsoForest fires: the deadly summer
Fabienne Buccio finally indicated that she supported the idea of "
states general
" of the Landes forest demanded by several departments: she wants them to take place "
before the end of the year
".
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