The fire that broke out on Friday in the foothills of Chartreuse in Isère was “still not fixed” late Monday afternoon, with now 90 hectares of forest and vegetation destroyed since its beginnings, said the prefecture.
“It is progressing slowly, pushed by a north-westerly wind of 30 km/h, strengthening until 10:00 p.m., with a temperature of 32 degrees. It concerns an uninhabited part of the municipalities of Voreppe and La Sure-en-Chartreuse, on the mountainside (620 meters above sea level) and wooded, ”said the prefect of Isère in a last press release. “We do not deplore any injuries at this stage among the population. Three firefighters were slightly injured in response. No homes or businesses are affected,” he added.
A total of 140 people were evacuated as a preventive measure, residents of the Malossane, Balmes and Bourget hamlets in the town of Voreppe, as well as that of Barniers-Les Côtes in La Sure-en-Chartreuse. The inhabitants have been relocated mainly to their families, according to the same source.
More than 300 firefighters mobilized
Thirty additional houses were evacuated as a preventive measure in the Balmes sector “due to falling burning plant debris which makes it necessary to carry out operations to protect homes”. 308 firefighters and 80 machines, including extra-departmental reinforcements and air resources (two water bomber helicopters), are currently mobilized, Sdis Isère said on Monday morning. The aircraft carried out “44 drops representing 131,200 liters of water”.
Departmental roads 1075 and 520A are still closed to traffic for safety reasons and to allow the intervention of firefighters. The latter also employed Monday afternoon a new method of fighting against the spread of the fire: controlled burning, along the RD 520, to create a barrier to stop the fire. Caused by lightning late Friday afternoon, the fire had ravaged about twenty hectares in its infancy. The prefect of Isère calls for the greatest vigilance “because of the drought and the temperature”.
According to scientists, the multiplication of extreme meteorological phenomena (heat wave, drought, fires, etc.) is a direct consequence of global warming, with greenhouse gas emissions increasing in intensity, duration and frequency.