Too Close for Comfort

I know what you are probably thinking: "Why are Brian and Joan happy to live in the middle of a forest during these times of climate change?" Well the straight answer is we aren't , but this is home, and so climate change is something that we have to allow for. Twenty three years ago, when we first looked over this property, it was farthest from our minds. But awareness has changed, and at this time of year thoughts of a possible forest fire begin to intrude. I tell myself that given the enormous area of French land that is covered by forest, the chances that our actual property will be hit are fairly small. But then again...I do worry. Shortly after six o'clock last evening, these thoughts took centre stage when I became aware of a subtle smell of smoke as I was sitting by the pool reading. "It's just your imagination," B. told me, as he busied himself with the pool cleaner. So I soon forgot about it and became absorbed in my book.

27% of France is covered by forest, so it is not surprising that there have been safety rules in place for hundreds of years. These practices are known as le 'code forestier,' and the latest code, which we are required to observe, was introduced in 2012. This states that we are obliged to 'débroussailler'( or clear) all low growing vegetation within 50 metres of our house, even if it means entering a neighbour's land should it be necessary. Also we must remove(élagager) the lower dead branches of any trees. Should we fail to do this the mairie can insist, or if necessary have the work done themselves at our expense. B. has always taken this task seriously, and indeed our maire's wife once said, after walking in our area, that we kept our land 'très propre,'( clean or tidy.) Well, you would wouldn't you... given the risks?

Of course, over the years we have seen the results of local fires , which tend to occur in the countryside closer to the coast . Trees remain black and stunted long afterwards, while the land underneath recovers more quickly. Last year we saw the effects of a garrigue fire close to the motorway that leads to Montpellier, while only this week there have been reports of a large blaze near Frontignan, close to where we moor our boat. In much of southern France large areas of forest have currently been designated either no go areas, or places where entry is strongly discouraged. The latter applies to our own forest, although there seems to be little control.

Last evening , as the pool cleaner was busily working away, and I continued to read my novel, B. spotted an unusual plane. Whilst we may sometimes see a passenger jet in the distance heading for Montpellier airport, or even cower occasionally as a military jet threatens to break the sound barrier, this obviously made him uneasy. The sky seemed to be getting noisier too, as if something was definitely happening just out of sight beyond the mountainside that rises behind us. I watched this plane return two or three times, skimming the brow and then vanishing beyond. What was going on? Never before have we seen a plane like this. But surely, it could have nothing to do with fire fighting . We are familiar with Canadairs, small firefighting planes that occasionally pass over us in summer to replenish their stocks of water from nearby Lac Salagou. But this aircraft, was sleeker...more like a long executive jet, with a smart red and white livery.

On returning to the house, B. immediately consulted our local newspaper 'Midi Libre' on line. Hot off the press was the news that a fire was raging in a pine forest near the community of St Privat, and that one Dash 8 plane, 5 Canadair , and one bombardier helicopter were currently tackling it along with 60 sapeurs pompiers (firefighters.) The pretty village of St Privat lies just over the mountain from us . As the crow flies it is quite close. Fortunately , it was reported that the community was not under threat. The aircraft noise continued until dusk, and then the skies fell silent. When we scoured the news the next morning, we learned that the firefighters had continued on the ground, eventually extinguishing the blaze around 3.30 a.m.

On further research, we discovered that the red and white plane that we saw was indeed a Dash 8, one of a fleet of five that have recently been purchased by France from Canada to help deal with wild fires. It would seem that they are doing a stirling job. Moreover, France is well organised to tackle this growing problem. Perhaps that's just as well to know!