French "wild' fires

[RobertArthur]

I’d rather not dwell too long on the idiots who have started fires in so many places across France, in all those magnificent forests. As someone who’s usually very friendly, I might just turn into someone who could be placed at the very opposite end of the Richter scale of friendliness. What has been on my mind recently is the question: can we learn any lessons for the future from the disaster that is currently unfolding? And I’m not talking about imposing harsher and swifter penalties on arsonists, but about landscape management. From my experience of the Morvan, I know that after the Second World War it was decided to make the forests there productive more quickly. This resulted in an excess of pine trees. From the point of view of disease control, a pathogen spreads extremely quickly in such a monoculture, not very wise.

That is, of course, not the case in the vast forests of the Fontainebleau region, but it does offer a perspective on the question: what on earth are we to do now, after all these disasters?

I just finshed reading an article in the Dutch press this morning. Food for thought, a summary:

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' Forests consisting solely of maritime pines near Bordeaux are asking for trouble. The fires in France are raging so fiercely because it has been dry and hot for a long time and the area consists mainly of commercial forests of highly flammable maritime pines. When strong winds blow, nothing can stop the fire in the resin-rich, dry coniferous forests and parched forest soils. One solution: “Adapt the landscape and vegetation.” Bertram de Rooij is conducting research at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) into how landscapes can be designed to withstand a changing climate. “Whether that means resilience to more severe storms, rising sea levels or wildfires.”

The university is taking part in a European project in the region around Bordeaux, one of the areas currently ablaze. “There are large commercial forests there consisting of maritime pine, Pinus pinaster. You can manage such an area in various ways and combine different measures. Think of firebreaks, for example, avenues of native oak and walnut trees. These are deciduous trees and are less flammable than conifers.”

There are major commercial interests at stake. “Clearing a wide strip of woodland on a permanent basis, thereby removing flammable material, costs money. Evacuation and fire-fighting also cost a lot of money at present. The difference is that someone else is footing the bill. Doing nothing will cost us more.”

“It’s complicated, because what can and can’t you enforce on privately owned forest plots? We could also say: don’t go on holiday in those areas any more, but that’s not desirable from an economic point of view either.”

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[manonthemoon2]

We have smoke and burning smell this morning, because the wind is blowing it in our direction. 4 hours away from Bordeaux area.

[Lori]

Us too. We are 2 hours drive from Bordeaux. Quite thick smoke, hiding the sun. The smell of smoke began around midnight last night. It continues. Farmers have been called to mobilize today in an attempt to form a fire break. Masks are being distributed by various organizations in this area.

https://www.sudouest.fr/faits-divers/in ... 057965.php

[Bayleaf]

Thick smoke here too - 2.5hrs NE of Bordeaux. There has been some rain, which will at least dampen things, but I even wore a mask just to get the poney and donkey in from their "one hour of green grass" session. We can stay indoors with everything closed, but they can't escape it, nor can wild animals.




Oh, and up until a couple of days ago, if you looked on ZoomEarth, it would show where all the major fires were, in the world. It has suddenly stopped showing them, and I haven't changed the settings .....

[Blaze]

[mention]RobertArthur[/mention] Interesting article. Maritime Pine is widely used as a commercial crop because it needs no maintenance and is self-generating (it grows well from seed). It also loses its lower branches naturally rather than having to be cut ff. In some areas they are being replaced by the Corsican Pine which grows straighter and is widely used in the building trade, fence posts, garden furniture/structures etc. It can also be planted more densely than the maritime pine. However, it does need the side branches removed from time to time (depending on whose opinion you listen to !).
Planting oak or walnut is commendable, but oaks are generally slow growers and walnut is considered a luxury wood (you wouldn't use it in the building trade !). Neither likes poor acidic soil - oaks will be stunted, full of branches = knots. But the idea of planting such trees as a fire break is interesting.

The difficulty is choosing the right tree for the soil and climate conditions. The thicker leaves of evergreen trees and shrubs enables them to retain water more than their deciduous counterparts etc etc. This is clearly becoming more and more of an issue with climate change.

Ploughed up firebreaks are ideal but with a strong wind, a firebreak between tall plantations will not necessarily stop a spark jumping the gap. Years ago sheep and goats grazed the undergrowth in the garrigue in the south, which kept the spread of fires down, but that is happening less and less. Pompiers and maires have tried to encourage people to clear all undergrowth from their gardens, particularly near houses, to slow the spread and make fires easier to tackle.

[L Austin France]

A chap here was telling me about his ex. SiL who drove her kids somewhere 'down south' for a camping holiday.
Got tent set up & a few hours later all hell was let loose when gendarmes arrived with a coach & told everyone on the site to abandon everything, including car, & just get on coach as wildfire was rapidly approaching.
No idea of final outcome as chap not yet sure.

[Blaze]

Got tent set up & a few hours later all hell was let loose when gendarmes arrived with a coach & told everyone on the site to abandon everything, including car, & just get on coach as wildfire was rapidly approaching.
No idea of final outcome as chap not yet sure.

The problem is the fire can move so quickly and if the wind picks up or changes direction .... it's not entirely predictable. People go to bed feeling reasonably safe but get woken in the night to evacuate.
Presumably getting everyone onto a coach was to avoid cars blocking the way out and trapping people. I wonder if people were allowed to take their dogs ....

[Char]

Hopefully they're all ok.
We're three and half hours drive from Bordeaux and woke up this morning smelling something burning and there was a hazy smokey view - obviously we thought it was somewhere local but was told it was coming from Gironde. I can't go outside for more than 5 minutes due to really horrible acrid fumes that stick in the back of my throat. Heaven knows what it's like for those closer.

The people who set these fires ought to be done for attempted mass murder, let alone endangering wildlife and the environment.

[Wilbro]

Smoke here in Correze also.

[Chappers51]

I’ve just seen an American woman who lives near Biscarrosse admitting that she didn’t hear the warning sent to phones nor anyone at her door early morning telling her to evacuate because she had inserted her ear plugs.

Why oh why when you know there are fires burning around your area do you prevent any sense of hearing warnings or advice.