The fire that destroyed 7,000 hectares of forest in 10 days in Teste-de-Buch (Gironde) is no longer progressing, but firefighters remain on the lookout for potential recoveries.
With spears, they water charred trunks, still smoking. The fire that destroyed 7,000 hectares of forest in 10 days in Teste-de-Buch (Gironde) is no longer progressing, but firefighters remain on the lookout for potential recoveries. On board tank trucks, firefighters crisscross the pine forest, where there are still smokers, these incandescent hot spots which can restart if they are not cooled.
The firefighters, red helmets on their heads, navigate between the charred stumps and the scorched trees, smothering the gray smoke and spraying the trunks. The acrid smell of burnt wood is still striking.
“We give priority to areas where there are still leafy trees. This is where the fire is most at risk of starting again”, explains a firefighter, whose unit secures a six-kilometre track that crosses the pines. .
The monster fire “did not progress” overnight from Wednesday to Thursday but is “not yet fixed”, said the sub-prefect of Arcachon, Ronan Léaustic, during a press briefing.
There, 350 firefighters and “between 60 and 80 vehicles” are still mobilized.
“There are still hot spots which can cause resumption of fire if they are not cooled as quickly as possible”, underlined Thursday morning the lieutenant-colonel Olivier Chavatte.
“Punch Actions”
Along the departmental road that leads to the Dune du Pilat, all-terrain fire engines are parked, ready to start in the event of a flashback.
“Our mission today is to monitor the massif. We are carrying out punchy actions, on the edge of the forest”, affirms Nathan, chief sergeant who came from Salaunes, near Bordeaux, who is preparing to relay colleagues engaged in the pine forest.
His unit has an all-terrain vehicle, which directs the troops to the areas to be sprayed, and two trucks.
“The firefighters of the first truck launch a jet of water to destroy the flame. Those of the second are there to + perfect + the fire: to extinguish it with a more diffuse jet”, explains the staff sergeant, who did not wish gave his name.
In his sector, he has “a dozen times, not necessarily significant”, per day.
Next to his truck, a forester uproots shrubs with a backhoe. Deforestation operations are underway to create firewalls, in order to break the advance of the flames.
A few kilometers from the blaze, construction machinery dug through the pines a trench of white sand five kilometers long and 200 meters wide on average.
If the situation is improving, Nathan, the staff sergeant, does not want to declare victory too quickly: “You have to take everything into account, the wind, the temperatures, the humidity. As long as everything is not extinguished, we will remain on our guard.”