All the air resources available in Corsica have been deployed to contain this fire inaccessible to firefighters by land. No dwelling is threatened by flames.
Le Monde with AFP
It’s Corsica’s turn to prey to flames. A fire has traveled “450 hectares” of maquis in the town of Santo-Pietro-Di-Ttende in Haute-Corse, Monday 1 er August, said a spokesperson for firefighters.
The fire, which was reported to the firefighters at 8:40 am, had traveled to a “450 hectare” area, at 7:30 p.m., from this town in Haute-Corse located about twenty kilometers from Saint-Florent , a seaside village very popular with tourists in summer.
After fifty-six drops of engaged helicopters, sixty of the pelican type bomber-type aircraft and six lags delaying, “we cannot say that the fire is fixed but the two edges are clearly declining”, Specified Monday evening Lieutenant-Colonel Thierry Nutti, Departmental Fire and Rescue Operational Operation Center in Haute-Corse.
All available air means deployed
“The particularity of this fire is that it is completely inaccessible to terrestrial means, in a steep geographic area where there is no activity other than a little hike,” added the officer, who specified that no “home or exploitation” was threatened. Surveillance will take place all night.
All the air resources available in Corsica were deployed and were in action until the early evening: two planes and two water bomber helicopters. A dash plane also reinforced to drop delay.
Tuesday morning, the helicopter intervention detachment (DIH) of Brignoles (Var), specializing in work in difficulty to access, will operate on the area with three helicopters and seventy men will be helicoptered to work on fire edges, said the officer. Monday, twenty people worked on the ground. 2>
unfavorable conditions met
Monday, three unfavorable conditions were met: a temperature above 30 degrees while a “new scorching episode” touches France, a humidity rate of less than 30 % and wind at 30 kilometers/hour with, ” At times “,” reinforced thermal breeze phenomena “, detailed Lieutenant-Colonel Nutti. Tuesday, forecasts do not provide for wind, according to the same source.
“In our difficulty in fighting today against this claim, all the conditions of drying up air and vegetation, temperature and aerology were combined for fire, even without established wind, May burn, with slope effects, significant surfaces, “commented Mr. Nutti.
Saturday, several forest massifs of Haute-Corse had been closed due to a severe risk of fire and the affected area was considered “dangerous” for this risk, the authorities inviting not to go there. In the Gard, a fire, fueled by the Mistral and the Tramontane, destroyed 370 hectares of Pine forest on Sunday evening, and four firefighters were injured, including one seriously. The fire was set overnight.