More than 1,500 firefighters are still fighting fires in Gironde and Landes, where 7,400 hectares of pines have gone. The mobilization is total with fire soldiers from all over Europe. And to help them, many volunteers are working to put out the outbreaks of fire, under the coordination of the town halls. This is the case of Philip Gollierre, plumber from Landiras and member of the municipal civil security reserve.
It is noon this Saturday August 13, on a departmental road in the town of Saint-Magne, in Gironde. In his truck, equipped with a trailer, water tanks and a watering system, Philip Gollierre observes the forest, while the fires are still raging In the region.
” What we’ve been doing for 48 hours here is putting out fires. We travel the paths given to us. When we see something critical, we stop, we water, we drown the thing and we continue “, he explains to Gregory Genevrierspecial correspondent for RFI.
Precisely, a few meters ahead, the wind revives a fire. Philip Gollierre needs a few seconds to light the pumping system before drowning the fire. ” It’s more to protect the roads. What we have here are flameless covers. But the fact is that it can spread very quickly, because we are dealing with a typical case of bog. »
This former soldier is aware that he takes risks: ” Yesterday we had three really hot moments. It’s true that these flames look like nothing, but when you get closer, you quickly realize the magnitude of things. »
After a dozen extinguished fires, return to the base to fill the tanks, before leaving. Like Philip, several dozen volunteers assist the firefighters daily.