Between the charred forests of Canada and the Greek islands devastated by the flames, France resembles a haven of peace. This summer, France was an exception in terms of forest fires. But why are we relatively spared from fires?
What is the situation in France?
In France, the summer of 2023 was much less devastating than the previous one. The authorities have recorded 14,558 hectares burned since the start of the year compared to 72,000 last year, while the annual average has been around 15,000 over the last 15 years. “We can no longer talk so much about forest fire season,” says Jean-Paul Bosland, president of the National Federation of French Firefighters (FNSPF). “There were a lot of fires at the start of the year, with almost 10,000 hectares burned, which we had never seen. »
In the Pyrénées-Orientales – where one of the worst droughts in the history of this department is occurring – 1,000 hectares burned in April on the edge of Cerbère, a village on the border with Spain, raising fears of the worst for the summer season. The number of fire outbreaks remains high: 12,814 in 2023, compared to 19,821 in 2022 and 9,069 in 2021.
What impact did the weather have on this blue, white and red lull?
“We were lucky to have quite a bit of precipitation at the end of spring. The deep drought of the soil is still problematic but the vegetation in the northern part of France benefited from the rains at the start of summer. The risk is rather confined to the Mediterranean coast as it was historically,” explains Christophe Chantepy, expert in defense of forests against fires (DFCI) for the National Forestry Office (ONF).
This summer, the Var counted 29 forest fires for 11 hectares burned. “We did not have wind just after the heatwave periods like in 2021 or 2022. We had a little bit of water at one point. So all this means that the factors were not in phase at the same time. However, it was a risky year, due to high temperatures,” explains Eric Grohin, director of Sdis du Var.
Have resources increased?
After the fires of last summer, President Emmanuel Macron announced a “new strategy”, with financial and human resources and additional Canadairs. The departmental fire and rescue services (Sdis) anticipated by prepositioning firefighters and equipment (water bombers, helicopters, light vehicles) as reinforcements in risk areas.
Air resources have been particularly reinforced with nine additional planes or helicopters, increasing the fleet of aircraft from 38 in 2022 to 47 in 2023. Gironde, where 30,000 hectares burned last summer, benefited from the arrival of a Puma helicopter, a Dash water bomber and four Air Tractor planes in early July. Early detection of fires has also been strengthened with the deployment of three drones, video surveillance cameras, watchtowers and patrols. In the future, “these new means will be put to the test during a more intense year in terms of large fires”, however warned Christophe Chantepy.