Detection & early warning
Monitoring and detection: winning the race against fire
A fire detected within three minutes is a fire that, according to French firefighting doctrine, can be nipped in the bud. Hazard forecasts, lookouts, patrols, aerial surveillance, CCTV cameras — and you, whose call to 112 remains the country’s primary means of detection.
Key points
- The Forest weather (Météo-France) assesses the risk for Day 1 and Day 2 on a daily basis: it is responsible for initiating pre-deployment measures and aerial surveillance.
- Vulnerable mountain areas are patrolled in the summer: watchtowers, DFCI patrols equipped with spear holders and automatic smoke detectors.
- The Armed Aerial Surveillance sends armed bombers on patrol over high-risk areas: bombs are dropped within minutes of detection.
- The first sensor remains human : The majority of fires are reported by members of the public to 112 or 18.
- Your geolocated report on feuxdeforet.fr supplements the alert and warns local residents.
The two entries in this family
Forest weather
Four colours that govern the entire system: interpretation, background information and the boundaries of the daily hazard map.
Read the factsheet ParticipatoryReport by a member of the public
112 first, then geolocation: how your phone shortens the alert chain.
From forecasting to deployment: the detection chain
It all begins the day before, when the Forest weather colours the departments: in orange or red, the SDIS man their watchtowers and step up their DFCI patrols (light-duty water-carrying vehicles that tackle incipient fires themselves), the prefectures are closing the the most dangerous mountain ranges and the Civil Protection Service pre-positions its aircraft as close as possible to the area at risk.
On the day itself, the detectors overlap: human lookouts who triangulate the smoke, speed cameras which scan the horizon, light aerial patrols, with satellites providing additional coverage for areas with poor coverage — and above all the witnesses, walkers and local residents, whose call to 112 sets the system in motion. Between detection and the first release of a water bomber If it’s pre-positioned, it may take less than ten minutes.
Your role within the scheme
Surveillance is not just a matter for institutions. A witness who calls 112 to report a exact position, the size of the fire and the direction of the wind can save crucial minutes for the emergency services — our factsheet be sure to call 112 explains how. The citizen reporting then takes over to keep local residents informed whilst they gather round the fire. And on ‘red days’, the best warning is the one you don’t have to give: no barbecues, no angle grinders, no cigarette ends — prevention, always.
Follow these updates live.
Aircraft and helicopters in the air, active fires, today’s alert status: the real-time maps on the Forest Fires website link each page in this section to the situation on the ground. And if you witness a fire breaking out, call 112 first and foremost.