We came close to disaster. Monday morning, firefighters intervened in large numbers to try to control a fire that had broken out in Paimpont (Ille-et-Vilaine) on the edge of the famous forest of Brocéliande. The fire which broke out at the start of the afternoon was taken very seriously by the emergency services, who feared a spread in the most famous forest in Brittany.
In the end, five to seven hectares burned up to the gates of the Paimpont biological station where dozens of scientists from the University of Rennes 1 work. The twenty of them who were present on this heat wave day had been evacuated by precaution. Animals like monkeys and horses had been kept on site. All were saved thanks to the rapid mobilization of firefighters. A hundred men and women from Morbihan and Ille-et-Vilaine who have undoubtedly avoided the worst.
An individual wanted to burn plants
According to the gendarmerie, the fire would have started in a property of the commune where an individual was burning green waste. A prohibited practice. The fire spread, carried by a hot wind and a scorching temperature. Shocked, the respondent presented himself to the gendarmes. “He was taken care of by the emergency services and hospitalized”, specifies a source from the gendarmerie. He has not yet been able to be heard.
Placed on drought alert, the department of Ille-et-Vilaine experienced a day on Monday when the temperature exceeded 40 degrees.