This is one of the very last life-size rehearsals for the Gironde firefighters, before the summer season. Thursday morning, in Bombannes on the shores of Lake Maubuisson, located in the town of Carcans, the authorities deployed a large device to simulate an evacuation of the population due to a (fictitious) forest fire.
This type of exercise is regular for firefighters, but as summer approaches, it obviously revives the memory of the terrible fires of the summer of 2022, which ravaged 30,000 hectares of forest in Gironde.
The site for this general rehearsal was not chosen at random, Bombannes welcoming some 10,000 people in the summer, spread over all the holiday camps along the lake, and surrounded by a vast pine forest. The particularity of the exercise of the day, is also that it made it possible for the first time to test the evacuation of teenagers by boat, the only solution then the virtual fire had surrounded the peninsula because of the winds .
A better weather situation than last year
This general rehearsal was also an opportunity to draw up an inventory, as the summer season approaches. This year, the situation seems a little more favorable from a weather point of view, compared to the same period last year. “We had thunderstorms in the region which made it possible to delay the onset of the drought, which is already a positive point compared to last year, notes the commander of Sdis 33 Thomas Mimiague. Today, the plants are still green, and therefore less flammable. However, these storms did not allow the groundwater to be recharged, so we remain very vigilant. »
Another advantage compared to 2022: the presence of air resources, already prepositioned or in the process of being in Bordeaux. “In addition, we have internally reviewed our response system to adapt it to what we experienced last year,” continues Commander Thomas Mimiague. We are mobilizing our professional and volunteer firefighters much more, and we have systems with forest fire intervention groups that are prepositioned in the massifs and ready to intervene at the slightest outbreak of fire. We supplement with surveillance, thanks to cameras currently being tested, which will make it possible to detect fires more quickly. »
The Gironde will also use this year, if necessary, the new FR-Alert system. “It is a device that sends a message to mobile phones within a given perimeter, with a very loud ringtone, and a short message from the prefectural authorities, explains the sub-prefect of Lesparre-Médoc Fabrice Thibier. This message urges people to leave the premises and gather in assembly areas. »
Trucks “irreparably damaged by the fires of 2022”
On the other hand, the firefighters recognize that they will have to do this year with a little less means on the ground than last year. “Some of our trucks were irreparably damaged by the fires of 2022, and the reinforcements lent by the Hérault firefighters in the spring having gone back to their barracks, we are indeed a little below last year, in waiting to receive orders for new trucks placed with the help of the State” indicates Commander Thomas Mimiague.
For the sub-prefect, the best weapon against forest fires, however, remains prevention. “This is the basis of our forest fire strategy, he insists. The fire must not break out because we know that it is of human origin in 90% of cases. The children in the Bombannes leisure centers are also made aware of the risk of fire, in a particularly vulnerable sector.
Good coordination between departments is also essential. “This morning, we have the ONF, the DFCI associations, the Sdis, the gendarmes, the municipal police on site… Everyone has to know each other and everyone knows what each other’s role is. »