As the fire season has taken a meteoric lead in 2022, the time is for prevention.
As of July 2, 20,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke, four times the normal on this date, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).
In the Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) regions, preventive measures are increasing to remedy a summer that promises to be particularly devastating.
In Langlade in the Gard, the mayor Gaëtan Prevoteau did not wait to ban smoking while driving, with a fine of 15 euros in the event of an infringement.
Further on, in Saint-Jean-du-Gard, the July 14 festivities will take place without fireworks to minimize the risk of fire.
The departments of Bouches-du-Rhône and Vaucluse, for their part, already bar access to more than 20 mountain ranges and prohibit work from continuing after 1 p.m. in certain areas.
In the regions on alert, extra-departmental reinforcements come to relieve the local teams.
An unprecedented year
Among the firefighters, we are already expecting a "
long and intense
" forest fire season, says Commander Geoffrey Casu, spokesman for the firefighters of France.
"
It's the summer of all dangers
", and for good reason, "
the firefighters' indicators are already all red
".
With their “
rule of three 30s
”, it is impossible to ignore the magnitude of the risks: temperature over 30°C, wind over 30km/h and humidity below 30%.
In addition to increasingly intense weather conditions in naturally sensitive regions, the perimeter threatened by the outbreak of fires is also increasing.
"
The areas that were not confronted with the problem of fire are now confronted with the effect of global warming
", explains the commander.
Therefore, many local authorities are called upon to adopt the reflexes of the Mediterranean basin as quickly as possible to quickly protect their municipalities.
The importance of awareness
When fire becomes a “
national problem
”, raising awareness is no longer an option but a long-term solution.
According to statistics from the NGO French Disaster Relief Group (GSCF), 90% of fire starts are linked to human activity, half of which is anthropogenic, i.e. following dangerous activities.
Thus, with responsible behavior, one out of two fire outbreaks would be avoided.
Read alsoBouches-du-Rhône: all the massifs closed this Thursday due to the risk of fire
"
The fires do not happen by chance and that, unfortunately, we sometimes forget
," recalls Commander Casu.
To relieve the teams in the field, nothing could be simpler than to follow the instructions of our firefighters and to respect the departmental decrees: do not light fires next to forest massifs, make sure to throw away your cigarette butts, monitor your consumption of water and clear its green spaces.
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