During the fire
When out hiking or camping and faced with a forest fire
Out in the open countryside, with no walls to protect you: safety depends on thinking ahead, reading the terrain and following a few absolute rules — the first of which is: never try to outrun a fire downwind or up a slope.
Key points
- Before you set off: Forest weather forecast + decree on…access to the mountain ranges. Red day = we give up, full stop.
- Smoke? Move away immediately — at right angles to the wind, never towards the fire, never uphill.
- Refuge area: as rocky and open as possible (rockery, ploughed ground, wide track, cooled-down area that has already been burnt).
- At the campsite: follow the site’s evacuation plan; do not return to your tent or mobile home.
- Emergency call: 112 with GPS location (the app sends your coordinates).
Before you set off : 2 minutes that make all the difference
- The Forest weather today and tomorrow : orange = route outside the sensitive mountain range and early start ; red = postponed. Many departments close the mountain ranges in accordance with the regulations on those days — check theaccess order.
- Shared itinerary : Tell a friend or family member where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Make sure your phone is charged and you have a power bank, and an offline map.
- Summer equipment that poses a risk : plenty of water, light, loose-fitting clothing made from natural fibres, a whistle. And, of course : no open-flame cookers, no open fires, no cigarettes in and near woodlands (prohibited by the Forestry Code within 200 metres of woodland).
Spotting the danger early
A fire is first indicated by a plume of smoke — ranging from white (green vegetation) to black (dry scrub, high intensity), leaning in the direction of the wind. A smell of burning with no visible smoke: the fire may be behind a rise, downwind — and therefore potentially heading towards you. React to the smoke; never wait until you see flames: at that stage, it is often too late to choose your route calmly.
How to distance yourself (the 3-direction rule)
The fire spreads with the wind and climbs slopes 2 to 10 times faster that the flames might reach them (preheating the vegetation with the flames). We therefore move to one side, downwards and into open ground.
- Never in front of the fire (downwind) : he’ll be ahead of you for a long time.
- Never up a slope above the fire, or in a narrow valley or a thalweg: these are chimneys.
- Perpendicular to the wind, downwards and towards areas with the least vegetation: wide tracks, exposed rocky ridges, bare farmland, beaches, car parks.
If you can no longer get away : the safe zone
- Choose the the largest fuel-free area accessible: rocky ground, scree, ploughed land, gravel pit, wide DFCI track, area already baked and cooled — Taking refuge there is counter-intuitive but effective: the fire won’t spread there again.
- Stand in the centre, lowered to the ground (breathing air is at the bottom), face protected by a cloth, skin covered.
- A body of water (wide river, lake) is a good place to take shelter — you can submerge yourself partially whilst keeping your airways clear; watch out for overgrown banks.
- 112 As soon as possible: GPS location, number of people. Then stay in contact and stay put — we can locate people who are no longer moving.
At the campsite
- On arrival, the ‘plane’ reflex: look out for the evacuation plan, the exits, the assembly point. Campsites in high-risk areas are required to display one (and to alert their guests).
- In the event of an alert: follow the staff’s instructions, on foot if asked (cars are blocking the paths), without going back to the mobile home to ‘fetch a bag’. You and your loved ones — everything else can be bought again.
- Tent fabric, awning, mobile home = no protection at all : never take shelter there; head for solid buildings or the assembly point.
- No barbecues or open-flame cookers outside the areas expressly authorised for this purpose — and never on high-risk days (see the regulations).
Yes, easily. A fire driven by the wind travels at an average speed of 3 to 8 km/h — the pace of a walker — with much higher speeds in gusts and on slopes. On uneven ground, you won’t be able to keep up with it; the fire, however, will. Hence the rule: move out of its path, don’t run away from it in a straight line.
A LARGE body of water (lake, substantial river, sea) is a good refuge: submerge yourself partially, away from the vegetated banks, with your airways protected from the hot air. A small swimming pool surrounded by vegetation, on the other hand, exposes you to smoke and overheated air at water level.
A fine (usually a flat rate of €135, though this may be higher depending on local regulations), and, more importantly, a real risk: closures are determined by the day’s weather conditions. See our page access to the mountain ranges.
The risk changes every day. So do your reflexes.
Check the fire alert status for your department, keep track of current fires and report a fire via the Feux de Forêt mobile app.