Two storms in a decade it's discouraging

Warm atmosphere, Monday 16 February, in the Municipal Hall of Rion-des-Landes. City Hall offer dinner Aquitaine farewell to 80 men by Klaus assisting one from civil security "In reality, it is by chance", tells the Hoerh captain of the 3rd company based in Nogent-le-Rotrou. Friday, January 23 in the evening, anticipating the power of the storm announced by weather France, the Ministry of the Interior fires the Orsec plan and sends 150 men of genius to Bayonne. "It is never arrived." Saturday, at 4 o'clock in the morning, the N10 was cut off at Labouheyre. We saw trees fall around us. "It started out chainsaws and to identify as the falls", says the captain.

"At home, some homes remained sixteen days without electricity and, until Saturday, February 14, we were still 31 generators. "Il is more than six", said Joel Goyheneix, the Mayor of this town whose communal forest extends over 2,000 acres and was 20 of the municipal budget. "With a forest devastated 80, we have 200,000 euros of expenditure." "The 500,000 euros of revenues soared in six hours", notes, disillusioned, elected officials of the town of 2,500 inhabitants. And to punctuate: "When it took the habit of living with pine, it is difficult to deny."

Good for pallets

Rion as in over 300 municipalities in the heart of the Landes Department, it is a landscape of desolation. The maritime pine, pride of the region and the green lung of the France, is on the ground in more than 60. Worse, trees for twenty years and over who were the most affected. The flow of air of a unprecedented power left behind tens of thousands of pollarded trunks, just good to make the palette or biomass. "On the 250 hectares of forest inherited from my parents, 95 of my trees of forty to sixty years, those who value in lumber, are lying", says Thierry Larrivière, head of the firefighters of Rion and exempt in civil. His case is not isolated. Des Landes, generations and even before Napoleon III, who attributed the development of this forest, is willingly invests his savings in a few hectares of maritime pines for his retirement. And the storm is even more painful that forests are excluded from the system of compensation of natural disasters.

A month after the hurricane, the owners are shared: to roll up the sleeves or lower arm. "Two storms in a decade, it's discouraging." "If we're not seriously helped, I will leave my plots in the State," coward, wry, Jean, owner of 20 hectares with Sabres. It is the chosen by Michel Barnier to announce, on 12 February, a set of measures for forestry. This "blowdown plan" (in reference to trees to the ground) plans to mobilize "a global envelope of EUR 1 billion", said the Ministry. But half as guarantees for subsidized loans to finance the disposal and storage of wood that can be valued. Some 300 million euros will be further mobilized until 2017 for reforestation. "This plan is insufficient, denounces Henri Emmanuelli, President of the General Council of the Landes, which retains the high range of estimates of the damage." 300 million to reforest 300,000 hectares, it is 1,000 euros per hectare. The account does not. "" We are asking 3,000 euros per hectare ", confirms Henry Chaperon, Director General of the Cafsa, a cooperative with 100,000 hectares were damaged.

In the immediate future, the State will fund, $ 60 million, the creation of storage areas (the wood must be watered constantly to thwart the attack of insects and fungi) and transportation. A device to save without waiting can be. Officially, the storm struck 39 million cubic meters of pine and 700,000 cubic meters of poplar, "but the reality is closer to 50 million cubic metres", point to many actors of forestry, which all denounce "a plan totally undersized". Figures to put next to the 7.4 million metres exploited cubic each year by the sector wood in the region. "It has on arms between six and seven years of harvest and then a decade without resources," notes Pierre Darmanté, Mayor of Arjuzanx and President of forest Commons.

Biomass projects

In 1999, conditions and the Spanish real estate boom had promoted the flow of the surpluses of wood. Today, the situation is reversed. "We are suffering a drop in demand Spanish and Moroccan," said Anne-Marie Chauvin, head of Sogy wood, sawmill of Ygos-Saint-Saturnin which employs 160 people in the region. The company has its forests for sourcing and will therefore benefit not the fall of the courts. In addition, "the shaping of this scarred wood from 20 to 30 more expensive than that of normally shot wood", says the business leader, who would like the crisis encouraged the players in the sector to shake together the promotion of the pine barrens, for example with the DIY distribution. "It's hard to get," she notes. Foresters also, the temptation is great dismantle its timber for fear of losing everything. "It is solicited by buyers that offer us 1 euro per tonne. '. It was worth 30 prior to January 24. "Everyone said that should be denied, but in a few months, I am afraid that should pay to clear plots", is concerned about Thierry Larrivière.

For weeks, all multiply contacts to find opportunities. "It should be able to export 1 million cubic metres to Northern Europe", said Henry chaperone, which acknowledges that the profession based hopes on biomass projects. A wood pellet plant should soon see the day Pontenx-les-forges, on the initiative of EO2. For its part, Dalkia will build a plant for the production of electricity and steam from waste wood for the mill of Smurfit Kappa.

Planting of new trees

As reforestation, this second disaster might push Landes silviculture to look at other less sensitive than the maritime pine trees. "We have done, with success, planting of pine taeda. tests." Everywhere, it has withstood the wind. "But it is not easy to change habits," admitted Henry chaperone.

Today, another form of bitterness has taken body. Led, this time against public services, found to be faulty. Online focus, Orange - France Telecom. The historical operator admitted Thursday, still 1,300 lines out of service (about 45,000 cut by storm) while dozens of kilometres of telephone wires lie ditches and roadsides. "France Telecom did even not took the presence of civil security to identify the son stuck under the trees", regretted the Rion fire chief. "We have dispatched on-site 700 technicians and our teams have worked tirelessly", said Brigitte Audy, Regional Director of Orange - France Telecom, who estimated the cost of the damage "between 20 and 30 million euros".

Utilities in charge

For its part, ERDF, the network of EDF subsidiary, intervened with massive human capabilities, delivering impressive amounts of material and mobilizing to 6.600 people, including 2.700 with the intervention Force rapid power (Fire) created after 1999. However, the elected Commons adhere to the National Federation of concessionary and governed communities (FNCCR) décolèrent not. "In 2009, he is ineligible to be deprived of electricity for a week, sometimes two," rises Alain Siberchicot, President of the Union of equipment of the communes of the Landes (Sydec), Member of the FNCCR. "They have established the means, the interventions were disorganized but ERDF has no corresponding local who knows the network", is the Mayor of Peyrehorade, who denounces the lack of investment of the group for the burial of the lines. "EDF had invested EUR 22 million in 1999 in the Landes and 2.5 billion in France." "In 2007, the figures fell to respectively 6 million and 1.5 billion", says the President of the Sydec, wishing with the FNCCR discount flat concessions. "We will rebuild in the same and remain open to discussion," replied Bernard Lassus, Deputy Director of ERDF. "We call a debate to establish a programme of investment." An appointment needs to be done.