Transcription
10,000 more than yesterday, approximately 240 houses impacted. Fortunately, to date, we have no knowledge of any injuries, except among the firefighters where the toll is increasing, as we have more, obviously, firefighters who are affected. Not necessarily seriously, but I wanted to highlight that. What happened? Last night, we were confronted with a new episode of firestorms, that is to say, the same incredible, unprecedented, unknown phenomenon as the one that occurred last Friday, at the time when we discovered that we had changed dimensions, if I may say so. This afternoon, we spoke with the director of the 10, the prefect's team with a group of experts, a group of national and international experts who have a deep knowledge of these phenomena, and it allows us to understand, to confirm that this is a perfectly unpredictable phenomenon that combines, I don't want to get into scientific details because I don't have sufficient mastery, but from what I've understood, it combines both the fire, the fire of the storm with the storm that produces itself with its impacts of new fire outbreaks and with wind, and the wind also fans the flames. All of this in a territory, in a department that has one of the largest forests in Europe, thus abundant combustible material for this fire. And consequently, when this phenomenon occurs, it occurred at the end of the day and part of the night before subsiding, but it occurs in an unpredictable manner and has unpredictable consequences. So obviously, with all these uncertainties, the operation is even more complicated. In any case, this situation led us once again to carry out preventive evacuations during the night. Preventive. So, I thank you once again, but I will do so every day, for as long as necessary. I thank the elected officials, the mayors who are truly formidable, but I also thank the residents, the residents whose lives are thus turned upside down. So last night, more than 50,000 people again left 23 municipalities where they resided, bringing the total number of evacuated people in the department since last Wednesday to 220,000 people. This was the first measure we took in conjunction with the firefighters to facilitate their work and above all to save lives. Then, we closed the 63. The 63 between Bordeaux, TCH and L'HPosteille in the Landes, and because the fire crossed this line, we also closed the railway line between Bordeaux and Arcachon. The firefighters, the gendarmes, the police officers, the army, the healthcare workers, and also us here at the prefecture. In short, the entire local and national state is mobilized, as well as the elected officials who provide us with great support. Additional reinforcements have converged on Gironde, and to date, more than 2,500 firefighters are mobilized, including European reinforcements. There are more than 18 aerial resources, including European aircraft. 1,500 military personnel, 1,200 internal security forces, and 450 civil security associations. The security of the evacuated towns is ensured by the gendarmes and police officers, depending on where these municipalities are located, but also by the sentinels mobilized by the Ministry of the Armed Forces, who are conducting patrols. I want to tell you that despite the incredible gravity of the situation, we are still witnessing behaviors, how should I describe them? Unacceptable behaviors, and I would even say almost criminal. That's in everyday language, without legal qualification, I am not the public prosecutor. Consider that yesterday, an individual who was smoking in the forest and two others who were having a barbecue in the forest were arrested by the internal security forces. We are dumbfounded, and obviously, these individuals were immediately arrested and taken into custody. I have no doubt that the public prosecutor will impose the appropriate firm response, as that is also his intention. On the other hand, fortunately, and this is undoubtedly the majority, there are many acts of solidarity. There are companies, large and small, that have decided to immediately release their volunteer firefighter employees so that they can reinforce the teams of General Controller Vermeline, because we must also think about the rest of the personnel. This applies to firefighters as well as gendarmes and police officers, naturally, and to us as well. So, there are companies that have decided to release all their agents, on a voluntary basis. I'm thinking of the large chains that have delivered food products to the reception centers, and I'm also thinking of the individual initiatives of private citizens who are making themselves known and who are willing to welcome evacuated people into their homes, to house them so they don't end up in a reception center. The farmers, I spoke about them yesterday, the farmers are also very mobilized because generosity is part of their culture. They are very mobilized with their tractors and water tankers to bring water as close as possible to the firefighters. But I say it, we do not want farmers to take individual initiatives. We do not want to see tractors with water tankers driving around everywhere looking for firefighters. This must be organized. We said it yesterday, there is a form to register on the website of the Chamber of Agriculture of Gironde, and then based on these registrations, these declared volunteers, there is an organization with the firefighters. We need to be able to bring water to the firefighters to limit their trips, to refuel, but in an orderly and safe manner. I don't want any farmers to get caught in the flames and get injured or worse. So, generosity is very good, provided it is organized. And so, it is up to the firefighters to manage it. Otherwise, we do not want farmers to intervene spontaneously. I will now hand over the floor to Cécile Tagliana, the Deputy Director General of the Regional Health Agency, regarding the smoke, because naturally, this fire is producing smoke that is reaching the metropolitan area and much further. So, perhaps Cécile, if you would be so kind, could you tell us what the situation is? We also have our regional director, who is in charge of air quality issues. And based on air quality and air quality measurements, it is up to the Regional Health Agency to define recommendations. And so, I give the floor to Cécile Tagliana. Thank you, Madam Prefect. Indeed, we are dealing with a completely exceptional event, with the need to provide very specific directions and recommendations to the population in the face of what can be anxiety-provoking. We have exceeded the fine particle alert thresholds in four departments of the region, due to these exceptional fires. And therefore, recommendations have been issued with a press release, and I would like to recall them here and perhaps clarify them. These recommendations are valid. They are the usual recommendations, already scientifically validated, for people who are near a fire or at a distance but are affected by the smoke from these forest fires. So, when you are in the plume or you see this impact, and this can evolve depending on the wind, the direction of the wind. The main recommendation, which may not seem logical to everyone, is to go outside as little as possible. There is more smoke outside than inside. So, limit the time spent outdoors. Also, prevent outdoor air from entering, so keep windows closed and only ventilate when you are no longer in the wind plume, because the wind has turned in the smoke plume. The third recommendation is to avoid physical exertion. Physical exertion causes you to breathe more, and therefore to breathe in more fine particles. It increases heart rate, which also means breathing is stronger. So, avoid physical exertion for everyone for whom it is possible. Obviously, the ultimate recommendation is that if you have difficulty breathing or feel unwell, you must call SAMU, the emergency number 15. And this brings us back to the need for us to have enough sanitary transport to pick up people who have these difficulties, and therefore to the regional and national solidarity that has been organized so that SAMU has enough transport to pick up not only those directly affected by the fire and the evacuees, but also those who might be affected by the health consequences of the fire. These recommendations will be further detailed. Why? Because these recommendations are valid for the general population and are primarily valid for at-risk individuals. At-risk individuals are those with a cardio-respiratory infection, which seems logical, but not only respiratory, also cardiac conditions that make them more susceptible to difficulties with these fine particles. These are also people with chronic conditions, the most well-known being diabetes, and who have intrinsic fragility. And also the elderly, as they always have less respiratory capacity, so they can be more prone to these difficulties, or pregnant women, who also breathe more due to increased heart rate during pregnancy. So, what will be specified, particularly for these individuals but also for the general population, is the more precise impact of carbon monoxide. We have specialists coming from the Paris police prefecture who will help to measure the CO concentration more finely at different points in the territory, because today, our measurement points are more spaced out. Based on this concentration level, which will be measured, and this will start today as they arrive, a strategy will be decided with these specialists and the specialists from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, particularly the Poison Control Center, which you may know, regarding this concentration. So, we will see, depending on this concentration, because we are usually well aware of CO poisoning indoors, but outdoors, we are not normally at all at the same concentrations as you know, during winter with stove problems. Outdoors, we know the impact less, so we will measure this more finely and therefore be able to provide more precise recommendations regarding this specific problem very soon. In the meantime, the recommendation is still not to go out, to go out as little as possible if possible, to go out while making as little effort as possible. And what is being made available are FFP2 masks. There are strategic stocks at the state level and regional stocks that are currently being distributed to allow people, especially the most fragile, to have this protective equipment. The FFP2 mask will filter fine particles. An FFP1 mask or a regular mask is unfortunately not useful. This is not COVID, it's not the same thing. Here, you need an FFP2 mask. So, an FFP2 mask can be worn for about 8 hours during the day and remains effective. The FFP2 mask is for going out. So, it's for people who have to go out, if they must, and if they are fragile, to wear the FFP2 mask. Indoors, it is not necessary to wear an FFP2 mask, especially if you have followed the recommendations and kept the windows closed and have not ventilated too much. These masks are therefore being delivered and have been distributed to pharmacies on duty. You know that there is a dense network of pharmacies on duty in all departments. So, the pharmacies on duty have them. The list is available on the RS website and easily found on the internet. For now, with the stocks that have been distributed, 2.5 million masks, and while we are distributing them, we are replenishing the stocks. So, more are arriving. We recommend for now the distribution of two masks per fragile person. They are free, of course, these masks from the state's strategic stocks. They are free starting Monday, so from tomorrow. Pharmacies that are not on duty, regular pharmacies will also be supplied through the pharmacy logistics system, with Gironde and Landes obviously prioritized, as they are the closest to the smoke plume. The idea is to have, as long as this event unfortunately lasts, about fifteen masks per week, with an expansion of priority individuals to the entire population that needs them because they have to leave their homes, and this is obviously the majority of the population. I will specify one last thing, indeed, it is for going out that FFP2 masks are intended. You don't sleep with them either, it's not necessary. So, these are the measures being put in place, and more precise recommendations are to come in the next few hours or tomorrow regarding CO. Very well. Thank you, Cécile. Now, the work of journalists, there is also a beginning of a movement, it's not easy, but it has started by the RS. You know that we have evacuated a certain number of EHPADs, and therefore, the people who were in the EHPADs have been welcomed in temporary accommodation centers opened by the mayors. This was an emergency measure, it cannot be a long-term measure. So, the Regional Health Agency, in conjunction with the national network, with the Minister of Health, has begun to identify places to which people who need it could be evacuated, directed, after this initial reception phase. The movement has begun and will continue, prioritizing first those who are most fragile, most vulnerable, or most in medical difficulty, and then we will move on to other elderly people. And I think it is important, and perhaps tomorrow Cécile, it would be good to provide an update for journalists, for the press as well, to inform families, because it is not easy to find all the places in the department, and therefore we will have to ensure the flow of information with families so that the support can be provided in the best possible way. So, what is ahead of us now? What is ahead of us now? First, from Tuesday, alas, temperatures will rise again, and we will return to very high levels, 38-40 degrees. This is not a favorable factor, it is not a factor that will help us. It is a factor that could, I use the conditional, that could worsen the phenomenon. Consequently, what I can say today, and we are considering other measures, but what I can say today is that there will be no return possible, I repeat, I said it yesterday, but there will be no return possible to the evacuated communities, even if the fire has passed nearby, since we carried out preventive evacuations, but there will be no return to these evacuated communities until the fire is contained. It is not contained, it will progress and perhaps worsen depending on the climatic conditions. But in a moment, I will hand over the floor to Marc Vermelen, the director of the and also to Pierre Massé, who is a forest specialist who is actively assisting us, and whom I thank in this fierce fight that we are waging and that we intend to win. So, no return to evacuated communities, no employment, therefore, no work tomorrow in the companies of these territorial communities. Obviously, we will, with the regional directorate of employment and economy, a state service of the Ministry of Labor, implement a system of partial activity. That is to say, at least, instead of operating, companies will not have to pay salaries, but the state will cover them, and we will have a meeting at 7 PM today, after a first meeting with Matignon at 6 PM, we will have a meeting with the Minister of Economy, Mr. L'Escure, to discuss the entire economic aspect. We also do not wish, for the same reasons, for employees who live, who reside in municipalities that have not been evacuated but who would need to cross them to reach their companies. We do not wish for such journeys. Even if it is very problematic, we do not wish for them for security reasons, because the forces cannot be dispersed to secure everyone. Let's hope that the arrival of August and the start of the holidays will be such as to not worsen, but rather to mitigate the consequences of this. An exceptional phenomenon, an exceptional response. We are working on it, but we are intensifying our efforts, and this is where I will give the floor to the chief of justice and Pierre Massé. We are intensifying our efforts, to put it in my words, to deprive the fire of fuel. There are several techniques. Marc Vermeline will present them quickly, but our need is to deprive the fire of food and fuel, which is not an easy task in this very largely forested department. And so, I will hand over the floor to them right away. Mr.