After four days of struggle, the firefighters managed to control the fire at the Canjuers military camp on Wednesday. The president of the Verdon natural park went there to see the damage.
After four days of struggle, the fire at the Canjuers military camp is brought under control. Reinforcements from other departments left the scene, the device was lightened on Wednesday. Place now to the evaluation of the damage and in particular on the local fauna and flora.
The military camp is located in the Haut Var in the town of Aiguines. The 35,000 hectares of this military training area extend to the Verdon regional natural park. A vast classified territory that hosts rare animal species.
“Rare and endangered” fauna and flora
Steppe lawns, ancient forests, wetlands, the Canjuers military camp is recognized “for its many natural environments”, assures Bernard Clap, the president of the Verdon natural park, in a press release. The more than 30,000 hectares of the site are also home to “rare and threatened” fauna and flora such as the hedgehog locust, the little bustard, the shrike or the Orsini viper.
The president of the Verdon natural park, went to the Canjuers camp on Tuesday, at the invitation of the commander of the military camp, to take stock of the situation after the fire, he said in his press release. He has also acted as the spokesperson for local residents, concerned about their local plant heritage.
“Everyone here is wondering about the methods of starting the fire and its consequences for nature, for landscapes, on water, for pastoralism and for the local economy which is very dependent on tourism”, indicates. -he.
This week, residents expressed their anger and incomprehension. As the department faces drought, the fire went out after military fire.
Biodiversity victim of the fire
If the fire is now under control, Bernard Clap also held his breath during the four long days of fire activity which ravaged 1,800 hectares of vegetation, and whose ashes flew for miles around.
“The fire destroyed areas of great biodiversity at the gates of one of the natural nuggets of France, a large site whose landscapes and biodiversity are recognized worldwide”, underlines the National Park.
With this large-scale fire, “it is a part of this heritage and not the least, in particular on the Grand Plan de Canjuers, which risks having been strongly impacted”, still insists the management of the Park. Especially since the military camp is a “strategic area for pastoralism” in the Var.
The fear of the president of the park was that the fire would cross the crest of the Grand Margès. A “disaster scenario” which it seems was avoided and which could have threatened another “priceless” and promorial site for local tourism: the Gorges du Verdon.
The Verdon Regional Natural Park says it is ready “to help define the contours of the fire and its impacts, in particular at the crest of the Grand Margès where the GR99 long-distance hiking path passes”.
Next step: draw up a more precise assessment and identify any restoration or prevention actions to be taken. Especially since this fire occurred even though the Var department is experiencing a major drought.
The military camp: a strategic area for pastoralism
Year round, the military share their territory with breeders and their herds in the Var, recalls Bernard Clap who estimates the number of sheep present at 10,000.
On Saturday, 2,500 sheep had to be evacuated in disaster because of the progression of the fire, captain Olivier Pécot of the Var firefighters explained to BFM Toulon Var.
—
