Vers 14 h, les hommes de la cellule brûlage ont allumé le feu dirigé. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
Le Capitaine Jérôme Clarissac, chef de chantier de la cellule brûlage du SDIS 34. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
L’opération mettait à contribution les sapeurs pompiers, les Sapeurs Forestiers et deux personnels de l’ONF. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
In yellow, the forest firefighters of Hérault. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
In Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, three hectares of vegetation were treated under control. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
All morning, the men prepared the ground by creating paths to delimit the intervention area and prevent any risk of propagation. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
Un feu maîtrisé et sous contrôle. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
Two 1,000-tonne fire trucks were deployed to the intervention site. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh
À droite, le lieutenant-Colonel William Buchet coordonnait l’opération avec le Capitaine Jérôme Clarissac. JM – JM
Ce 17 janvier, une opération de brûlage dirigée était réalisée sur les hauteurs de Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière par la Cellule de brûlage du SDIS 34. Pompiers, sapeurs forestiers, agents de l’ONF, 22 personnes étaient mobilisées sur l’opération destinée à prévenir risques d’incendie.
Bright sunshine, light breeze, humidity at 29%. On the heights of Saint-Jean-de-la-Blaquière, at 2 p.m., the conditions are ideal. The order to light is finally given. Wind at their backs, burner in hand, the firefighters set fire to brushwood. The flames crackle gently, then stretch into the low vegetation. A forest firefighter directs his blower at the fire in the direction of the heart of the “prescribed burn” operation. On the edge, fire hose in hand, a firefighter ensures that it does not spread to trees. Higher up, on a front line of about a hundred meters, another group directs the flames against the wind. Firefighters, forest firefighters, ONF personnel, on January 17, 22 people are engaged in the system set up by the SDIS 34 Burning Unit.
“The objectives are twofold: the Defense of the forest against fire, the DFCI. And then there is another objective, but which is of lesser importance for the firefighters, it is agropastoralism, the reintroduction of sheep or animals to maintain the land”, explains Lieutenant-Colonel William Buchet. In the morning, the troops had prepared the ground. For hours, in the biting cold, the personnel had made their way through thick vegetation, dotted with wild boar nests, in order to create paths, useful edges for moving around during the operation, but also to prevent any risk of fire spreading to neighboring plots.
A municipality subject to the risk of fire
This one is three hectares. And offers a unique view of the landscape. But from here, it is also possible to see the scars of a fire that occurred in August 2024 in a pine forest, in Saint-Privat, a few hundred meters away, as the crow flies. Mayor of Saint-Jean, a town that has experienced several fire hazards in recent years, notably in 2022, 2019 and 2017, and where an arsonist had been active, Bernard Jahnick is a former colonel of the Eastern Group of SDIS 34. The retiree appreciates that “this multidisciplinary team is in the town today. It's very positive and it's useful to show that we can prevent fires with this system, in suitable terrain and ideal weather conditions today. It's the owner who made the request to the SDIS who then programs it for their season. There are different strategies depending on the requests, the weather and, of course, the period. Right now, until March, it's the right time.” The town includes a vast forest area of 350 hectares, “it has to be managed. Especially here, there's holm oak, broom, scrub… And after the operation, it'll be perfect!”
“The small winter fire prevents the big fire “summer”, smiles Didier Gravejat. Owner of the plot, the retiree called on the Burning Unit of the SDIS 34 to “clean” his leisure land. “It creates a natural firebreak for the summer and the land is clean”, he explains. “Before, in the winter with my father, we would clean the woods. Now, the new rural people, the people who come call the firefighters right away. They call 112 or 18.” So, the intervention of the Burning Unit secures the operation and raises awareness of the risks.
Captain Jérôme Clarissac, site manager of Burning Unit 34
What are the actions of the cell ?
We carry out burns in the winter for the DFCI and the reopening of the environment for breeders. This allows us to create firebreaks for the summer. The vegetation will start again but it will be less thick, which allows us to slow down the speed of propagation and reduce the intensity of the fires in the summer. This is a preventive measure that allows us to intervene more easily on fires.
What are the workforce??
We intervene on 150 to 200 hectares per year throughout the department, we carry out around twenty projects per year. We work a lot for breeders. The unit includes 100 people including 10 site managers. The burning period extends from December to March 15. We stop in the spring at the nesting period. In the winter we set up controlled burning operations and in the summer, seven of us are specialized in tactical fires. We light counter-fires to put out fires.
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