During the summer of 2022, 30,000 hectares were destroyed by flames in Gironde. Regarding the measures to be taken on the spot, the municipalities affected by these fires are generally forced to bear the costs of the rescue operations on their own.
The municipality of Saint-Symphorien, in Gironde, is setting up a firewall measuring 1.5 km long and 50 m wide. The total cost of this project is 25,000 euros. As Gérard Fernandez, deputy mayor, explains, ” Summer is comming. We are already in April and if we do not take the necessary measures to acquire the land and prepare this firewall, we risk having a potentially very dangerous summer..
In the summer of 2022, the fires that had devastated the region had stopped just 900 m from Saint-Symphorien. In the isolated dwellings of the town where the work has not yet started, the inhabitants are worried. ” We are constantly on the alert. In the evening, by closing the shutters, we check if there is not a red glow somewhere“, testifies Georges Morvan, a resident of Saint-Symphorien. In the municipalities directly affected by the fires, the costs are much higher. Without specific help from the State, all the mayors of the small towns affected do not know when they will be able to rebuild.
