Tatiana Geiselmann, edited by Ophélie Artaud 07:48, August 23, 2022

While the fires have been particularly numerous and violent this summer, the situation could worsen in the years to come due to global warming.

To fight against these forest fires, researchers from the University of Nancy and the CNRS are studying the evolution of fires to adapt strategies in the field.

After a complicated summer, the fire season is not over yet.

Nearly 400 firefighters spent the night in the Alpilles massif where 136 hectares went up in smoke.

And Monday night, the fire was only partly fixed.

Bouches-du-Rhône, Gironde, Ardèche, Brittany, Jura, never have so many departments burned in a single summer.

A risk that could well worsen in the future in the face of global warming.

Effectively fighting these forest fires is the objective of this laboratory in western France.

Researchers from the University of Nancy and the CNRS are studying the behavior of flames to adapt strategies in the field.

Predict the advance of the flames

Blowtorch in hand, Antoni Colin ignites a dish of wooden crimps placed on a large metal plate.

"The fire has developed and it goes much faster up and slower down. And we can play with the melting of our table and see that the steeper the slope, the faster the fire will go" , he explains.

Exactly like what happens in the mountains.

Another parameter to take into account: the wind.

"We have big fans that simulate the effect of the wind on a wildfire. So there, what you can see is that five fans are turning and that will have a direct impact on our flames."

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By dint of tests and measurements, the objective is to develop a mathematical model that imitates the behavior of fires.

“The Holy Grail is being able to predict almost in real time the advance of the flame front, so as to provide information to the operational staff who are in the process of fighting”, underlines Pascal Boulay, the director of the laboratory.

In particular to firefighters who regularly call on the laboratory.

Those in Paris, for example, recently truncated their black suits for orange suits, because researchers have shown that it provides better protection from flames.