Belgians, beginners
Hugues Claessens of Uliège with several other experts in forests and climatologists works to predict potential ravages by creating a vulnerability card to generate alerts. “”France is far ahead of us who are only beginners. We must ensure that firefighters have access to the departures of forest fires without getting bogged down and having water reserves.“In the Hautes-Fagnes as in Elsenborn, we have already created pretty artificial lakes which attract storks and dragonflies. The public sees only fire. And these forests too largely populated by spruces are more or less protected.
Actually, “Everything is to be done and there is no expert. There are no historical fires and if fire cuts sometimes exist, they are not maintained and serve more for hunters than for their initial function“, denounces Hugues Claessens.”There will be no miracle solution. We must combine the methods“, supports Nicolas Dassonville. It is therefore urgent to ensure that they are preserved wildly packed by large forest vehicles, which limits their ability to absorb water and aggravates the water retention capacity.”It is recommended to arrange tracks for 4 -meter machines so that only 10 % of soils are packed.”
The Walloon administration has just created a working group that collaborates with the French who have long expertise in the Landes. French firefighters came to train Walloons and the Federal has released a modest woolen stockings to govern the risks and predict fires. In the meantime, Jean-Charles Deviron has another proposal. “”Since spring and end of summer are the seasons at risk and that a simple megot can make everything go on fire, we would like as at sea to create a system of flags at the entrance to the forests. If it is red, we are not going to walk. “
