A race towards time has been underway since Sunday night to attempt to repair the big fire in Gironde. Because of a lull within the hearth, made doable due to the situations weather report lastly extra favorable, the firefighters mobilized on the entrance have been growing the variety of “drowning” actions since Monday on plots of forest burned, completely or partially.
In columns within the paths that crisscross the Landes de Gascogne forest, the firefighters perform “space flooding” on the wheel of their vehicles utilizing water hoses, as defined by Captain Sébastien Caillon, of Sdis de l’Orne. “And nearly concurrently, we are going to scrape all of the stumps which might be nonetheless incandescent, on this sandy soil, to search for the hearth within the depths, and make certain that it is not going to come to the floor,” he continues.
“We have now to search for something that’s fumaroles, which might trigger us issues with the vegetation nonetheless current. » Fumaroles nonetheless current by the tons of in the one space close to Marcheprime the place we went on Monday.
“Punch essentially the most delicate areas”
And you need to do it shortly. Firefighters have recognized “many scorching spots” throughout the 42,000 hectares ravaged by the gigantic fireand Météo-France confirmed an increase in temperatures from this Tuesday, and specifically Wednesday. The climate situations will subsequently be much less favorable, and conducive to replays.
That is why this motion on the bottom is supplemented by that of the Sprint and Air Tractor planes, which drop “delay strips” to “decelerate the flammability of vegetation” explains Commander Matthieu Jomain. “The concept is to bludgeon essentially the most delicate areas, to assist actions on the bottom, and provides your self the utmost probability of gaining the higher hand. »
The retardant product deposited on the vegetation will the truth is have the impact of repelling the motion of the hearth. “Earlier than burning, a fireplace will warmth the vegetation,” explains Matthieu Jomain. The retardant product will restrict this radiation impact, subsequently delaying the irritation of the plant, which permits us to save lots of time and subsequently, by way of actions on the bottom, overcome the quite a few outbreaks that we’re confronted with. » The target being each to restrict the resurgence of fireplace, and to save lots of the vegetation which has not fully burned.
100 km of firewall
The battle towards this megafire in Gironde additionally entails “tactical cuts” to create firebreaks. In Marcheprime, building tools is razing the forest tens of meters extensive to forestall the unfold of the flames. Identical on the entrance to the Cap Ferret peninsula. “The city of Lège-Cap-Ferret was terribly impacted, since 21 properties had been destroyed and a number of other hundred hectares burned, reminds 20 Minutes the mayor of the town, Philippe de Gonneville. However we managed to forestall the hearth from spreading in direction of the south of the peninsula (even when a brand new outbreak broke out on Monday afternoon close to Claouey). »
“We’re finishing up this forest engineering work to forestall the hearth from progressing by creating discontinuities within the massif,” continues the elected official. We made a primary between Lège and Claouey, a second which surrounds the village of Claouey, a 3rd which protects the La Pignada medical middle, and we’re going to make a brand new one on the village of L’Herbe, which can minimize the peninsula within the East-West path, to forestall the fires from progressing in direction of the south. » To this point, round 100 kilometers of pine bushes have been minimize down by the timber business, to create firebreaks and firefighter assist zones.
Matthieu Jomain additionally welcomes the “common enthusiasm” across the motion of the firefighters, “whether or not it’s the volunteers or the farmers with their water tanks, which permit us to have fixed entry to water. » Convoys of tractors, pickups and utility automobiles stuffed with water crisscrossed the roads of Gironde on Monday to help to the firefighters.
