In La Croix-Valmer, preventing the spread of forest fires

Work is being carried out within the forest massifs of La Croix-Valmer by the Communauté de communes and the Parc national de Port-Cros to maintain DFCI tracks and organize the defense against forest fires.

Following the 2017 fires that hit the golfe de Saint-Tropez and notably the Domaine du Cap Lardier, this work to bring the Défense des Forêts Contre l’Incendie tracks up to standard was planned to protect the site. Also, the Forêt department of the Communauté de communes du Golfe de Saint-Tropez works with the Parc national de Port Cros (manager of the sector) to prevent the spread of forest fires and ensure the safety of firefighters in the field. Their missions consist of creating and maintaining access tracks for emergency services, maintaining water tanks in the forest, and clearing brush around the tracks.

PROTECTION OF WILDLIFE

Carrying out these developments makes it possible to preserve local fauna and flora, notably protected species (mainly the tortue d’Hermann, a heritage species of the Maures, which is in hibernation underground until March). These interventions are also carried out without impacting the soil, preserving the regeneration of broad-leaved trees (cork oak, white oak, strawberry tree...) to replace the stone pines burned by the 2017 fire, and preserving islands of shrubby vegetation. Forest rangers of the golfe de Saint-Tropez carried out "alveolar" brush clearing. This allows islands of vegetation to be preserved in the area covered by the clearing and widens the clearing zone along the track on sections highly exposed to the wind, and therefore at greater risk.