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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000003.txt from 2003/08

From: Guy Mallery <wa2msu@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Question for French members: Var
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:59:52 -0400

(Rather a ways, I imagine...Fire does very little to
the permenant parts of Arundo under the soil...)G.

Fires Kill at Least 4 and Ravage Forests on French Riviera

July 30, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

STE.-MAXIME, France, July 29 - Forest fires swept through
parts of the French Riviera for a second day today,
devastating scenic woods and forcing thousands to be
evacuated. At least four people have been killed.

Authorities speculated that the blazes were caused by
arson. About 30 fires broke out nearly simultaneously on
Monday. Gasoline bombs were found in the area, local
officials said.

The mayor of Roquebrune-sur-Argens, Luc Jousse, called the
fires "a new form of terrorism," although authorities were
still investigating and had not determined the cause.

Firefighters met with some success near the western portion
of the French Riviera, but at least one fire erupted again
today east of Draguignan, about 30 miles from the resort of
Cannes, which was untouched.

Forest fires frequently devastate wide swaths of the
Riviera back country during the summer. But the blazes that
broke out on Monday were described as the worst in the
southern Var region in decades.

A 15-year-old British girl and her grandmother died on
Monday in Plan de la Tour, while a Polish man was killed in
Vidauban. A Dutch woman died on Monday while being
transferred to a hospital by helicopter from Ste.-Maxime, a
seaside resort near St.-Tropez. Their identities were not
released.

About 60 homes were destroyed or damaged as flames burned
about 21,000 acres by this morning.

Police in Draguignan said they had detained a 30-year-old
municipal employee from the nearby village of Figanières
who was suspected of having started several fires.

Electricity was briefly cut overnight in the Gulf of
St.-Tropez region, and many roads were closed. The
Riviera's beachfront was not affected, but the hills behind
the western edge of the Riviera were burning.

Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting the ravaged
area, said a Russian helicopter capable of carrying 12 tons
of fire retardant was being called in. Italy also was
sending firefighters and vehicles to help, according to the
Civil Defense Department in Rome. The Defense Ministry sent
600 soldiers to help about 2,000 French firefighters.

President Jacques Chirac, in Papeete, Tahiti, promised that
"the guilty will be sought out with extreme rigor" and that
"sanctions will be of an extraordinary severity."

The Var fire chief, Col. Jacques Baudot, said authorities
had not concluded that arson was to blame. But he noted
that 28 fires were started Monday. "There is little
probability that this is by chance," he said.

A fire in the same area just over a week ago burned 24,710
acres of the Massif des Maures.

The fires were being fanned by the powerful Mistral, a wind
that blows over the Mediterranean coast of France. Southern
France has been hard hit this summer by a heat wave and a
drought, without significant rainfall in about two months.

A 48-year-old man died today on Corsica from burns he
suffered when trying to extinguish flames outside his home
on Monday. The blaze, near southern Suartone, was brought
under control.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/30/international/europe/30FRAN.html?ex=1060749418&ei=1&en=4fe7b196af539f65

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--- Jennifer Paull <jennifer.paull@-----.com> wrote:
> Dear List,
>
> This last week has seen a terrible catastrophe in France. There have
> been the worst forest fires
> in living memory that have spread due to extremely hot conditions and
> far lower rain levels than
> usual. There has been a severe draught in Europe this summer.
>
> The horror of the news film footage is daily. Does anyone in France
> know if all the arundo donax
> plantations were lost, or was that region of the Var spared the worst?
>
> In comparison to the overall loss, this is but a small detail, but one
> I ask due to its relevance to
> our profession.
>
> Jennifer
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------
> Jennifer Paull,
> Amoris International
> http://www.amoris.com
> Rare music at the press of an oboe and a computer key
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------------------------

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