France's province transforms into an inferno. Houses, pine forests, hills, seaside. No one is safe. >> We haven't had a real fire season in years, but this one could become very bad. [Music] The neighborhood is being evacuated >> down that road. >> No, there's no evacuation that way. >> They lit a counter fire against meaning a fire that goes towards the wildfire meets it and stops it. >> Tell them to send more. >> In total, 12,000 acres go up in smoke in a summer that sets the record for the number of fires. A daily challenge for the firefighters. Three months of battling the flames. The opportunity to put into practice years of training. [Music] They know that some in their ranks may be injured. [Music] >> I was scared when I found myself on the ground. >> With 6,000 firefighters and 1500 vehicles, the Beron department is one of the best equipped in France. I stabilize. I want to roll it back. I stabilize. >> On land, in the air, or on the water, they observe and stand ready to intervene. >> Take that path. Go on. For the soldiers of fire, this season will long be remembered. You will witness their daily lives, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, battling the flames. [Music] [Applause] Okay. [Music] [Music] You can [Music] Summers in Province are the driest and sunniest in France. Day after day, the clear blue sky stretches over the dry forests. [Music] The balance of these beautiful landscapes is threatened by a phenomena that's sometimes natural, but mostly man-made. Fire. The firefighters have to put in place an everimproving system to combat the flames. Fire trucks are posed in every sensitive area. Teams are ready for action as soon as summer approaches. For 10 years, there's been practically no occurrence of large fires. But now they're back. 3 months before the fire season, the firefighters came out of winter a bit rusty. They start training intensely again on land, water, and in the air. With about 300 firefighters and an average of 50 interventions a day, Exxon Pov's fire station is the biggest in the department. This morning, the sky is gray and the courtyard is covered in red for the first fullscale test in the field. >> The commanders have imagined the start of a fire in the hills northeast of X. >> Lieutenant Colonel Alan Fontaire needs to decide where to place his men and vehicles in this life-size role playing game. [Music] This all takes place in a forest massie covered by dry Aleppo pines and surrounded by homes with lots of brush. They have to take the weather into account. A northern wind is blowing at 30 mph. >> A fire starting in the town of Vinel. The coordinates 1 kilo delta 4 1.4 out. Light allterrain vehicles and fire trucks leave the fire station. >> Are you the driver? >> The chief of operations can count on Fabric Mos who specializes in intervening in steep and unreachable environments. >> I need you to get someone up there as soon as possible. >> The fire has already spread in a cone. The flames move away from the starting point and consume more and more combustibles. The fire gets bigger. This is why firefighters always try to stop young fires when they are still quite small. They know the situation can quickly get worse. >> A mobile operations command post is established on site. Alan Fontaire moves his troops and secures the area. Firefighters say he's handling the site. >> This is important. Keep the population confined. No evacuation. Fabris Mos stays on standby for now. The heavy artillery moves out. The biggest tank trucks can carry up to 3500 gallons of water, but they must be able to reach the fire. The hills may not be very steep, but the bigger trucks are soon struggling. >> We're right there. Do we have to go back to the fence? >> Yeah, to the fence. >> It's here. All the way back. It's before the point of engagements on the green line. >> It's pretty far. >> Truck chief here. You can engage. My truck can't get through. We're turning back. The fire has spread on this surface. Our fire trucks can't get through. They're too big to access the paths. That's the situation. 1 hour after the beginning of the exercise. >> For lack of a better alternative, the large trucks are left depending on a path located on the fire's front line. Meanwhile, the firefighters on the left flank of the fire have stopped answering their radio. >> We can't reach him. >> There's no contact with the left sector. There's a radio malfunction on the 08 near HQ. [Music] No news of a truck currently fighting against the imaginary flames. >> The scenario is getting tricky. >> And then reality catches up to fiction. [Music] >> The department chief just informed us that a real fire started in the town of Ool. We're going to see if there is any real danger. The simulation is stopped and all the firefighters make their way to the Sant Boom Massie. >> Mos, who was on standby, is one of the first to react to the real fire. I've got two groups and two isolated midsized. The wind shifting, it's swirling around the hill so the fire can spread in several directions, but we don't know where yet. >> This time it's not a training exercise. The operation zone is in a steep and small valley bordering the forest massie with a house surrounded by trees and dry bushes. 30,000 square ft have already burned in less than an hour. Problem comes from a strong easterly wind which is fanning the flames. The hill is so steep that the trucks can't get to the fire. A troubling similarity between the exercise and the real fire. The firefighters don't repeat their mistakes and don't waste time with the large trucks. Firefighters get to the scene on foot, carrying hoses and pumps on their shoulders to bring water to the inferno. >> The hills really steep. The first vehicles on site managed to set up, but they're limited in terms of hoses and manpower. >> Moss and his troops roll out 5,000 ft of hose to reach the fire through the dense brush. >> They cover a staggering length, which is rarely practiced in other departments. This kind of maneuver is very effective, but it takes time to implement. >> Hello. I've been following the operation. >> Lieutenant Colonel Fontaires is on site and orders the intervention of the Kennedair, the firefighting planes, to buy some time for his men on foot. The pilots, Pierre and Jean Mark, are at the Marinan air base. When they get the alert, >> okay, right, no problem. They board their plane and start picking up water in the bare pond before making their way to the fire in [Music] Wind and turbulence hinders their precision, but the Kennedair intervention stops the fire's progression. The house's surroundings were starting to catch fire. The hoses are in place. The water is coming. And the last flames are finally suffocated. >> The fire started from the house with the pool. The owner lighted a fire which eventually spread up the hill. Our planes had trouble dumping water because there was a lot of turbulence up there. As chief of emergency services, the main problem was to decide whether I kept the planes or not. They were having trouble flying up there. They bought some time so the men could set up, but it was not an easy situation. The satisfaction we get when we fight against the flames here is a bit different. It's a slow fight. We're here to control the frontiers, to access distant fires, not powerful fires, slow progression fires. This fire was unusual. It wasn't a summer fire. It was more of an early spring fire. >> 5 hectares of pine forests have gone up in flames. There's been little damage, but the firefighters were taken by surprise. Thankfully, they could rely on their air support. The Kennedair are not the only planes in the firefighting arsenal. They are assisted by the so-called Sky Jeeps, the S2F Tracker, a former US Navy war plane built in the 1950s to track down submarines and land on aircraft carriers. >> The wings could fold back. Here are the hinges. That way, the plane took less space on the aircraft carrier. The Department of Public Safety retrieved the model and refitt it in the 1980s with two 1500 horsepower turbines. >> The fuels in the wing box with additional tanks to increase the plane's flight autonomy. [Music] >> Part of the cabin has been cut away and replaced with four tanks which can contain up to 3.5 tons of fire retardant. The tank takes all this space, so he must get in the plane from above. >> Gregory Pratt is a former fighter pilot. Finding himself piloting a Sky Jeep is a bit of a surprise. >> For a former fighter pilot, it's amazing. I flew a Mirage 2000 for 20 years in the Air Force. It was a great plane, very high tech. Now I pilot a slower plane, but one that perhaps asks more of me. So it's just as stimulating, and the job is very satisfying [Music] when I can save a village by dropping fire retardant on the flames. I go home happy and glad I could accomplish such a fine mission on this plane. All the engine controls are up here. Here are the throttles for the left and right engines. This controls the right and left propellers. Those are the fuel shut off valves for the left and the right engines. To perform a drop, the pilot selects the tanks with this button, then pushes the button on the handle right here. During the summer, the trackers fly out in armed aerial patrols. They constantly patrol the province in 2 and 1 half hour shifts. As they're already up in the air, the trackers are usually the first on the site of a starting fire. After dropping the fire retardant, they refill their tanks at a specialized air base. The fire retardant is a mix of water, clay, phosphates, and iron oxide. The red product must be dropped on the vegetation just before the flames reach it. >> We're going to try and create a funnel in front of the fire. The fire arrives in this funnel and dies down. >> The air forces also include the -8, a 100 ft long plane which can carry 60 first aid workers or 10 tons of fire retardant. Like the trackers, the -8 patrols the area and can contain the flank of a fire. Right before the dry season, the pilots are all training intensely, just like the firefighters on land, who go through simulation after simulation. At the firefighter school, a large forest fire simulator has just been installed with gas that lights up fake metal trees. 26-year-old Leia is a novice firefighter. Her team is training to prepare for the forest fire season. We'll advance in groups of three. When we reach the last burning area, I'll tell you to retrieve something. [Music] For today's exercise, they roll out their heavy orange hoses from their trucks to the burning trees and put out the 65 ft high flames. [Music] >> Leia is in second position. permission. Pull the hose so the main carrier can aim it at the flames. The water is propelled at 125 L per minute. It's seven times more pressure than a garden hose. I know there is some risk. It was pretty violent and a few guys weren't at ease. Of course, there's fear, but it's a whole mix of emotions and that's what I like about it. The flames get stronger and stronger, but the hose is too short to reach the fire. Without hesitation, Leia runs to the truck to get more hose lengths. She carries 30 kilos on her shoulders as well as her 10 kilo uniform. >> Thanks to this extension, the hose can finally reach the flames. The fire is contained, then extinguished. [Applause] The training exercise is successful. Leia is exhausted, but now is the time to begin her shift at the fire station. The emergency rescue services in Luin, a peaceful village in Exxon Province. This particular fire station is staffed with few professional firefighters like Leia and her colleague Sebastian. Most of the people who staff the shifts are volunteers. We do a lot of rescue missions because there's a big industrial area nearby. We don't do many missions in homes or apartments because there aren't a lot of homes around. It's quite a night. We're usually six by night and 10 by day, but sometimes there can be 14 people on the team when there's a risk of forest fire. [Music] >> This morning, Leia works at the reception desk. She answers the distress calls, the missions given by the regional headquarters, and keeps track of the fire trucks and ambulances leaving for interventions. When I heard I could be a volunteer firefighter, I thought I'd give it a try to see if I like it. It's a very particular environment, and if I like it, I can try to pass the exam to become an officer. >> I need things to be structured. I think it's the most efficient kind of environment. I like that there's a hierarchy with defined roles for everyone. This is how it's supposed to work. I like that. At least it's not an anarchy. [Music] Daily life is sequenced into fixed activities. Salute the flag, job distribution, and physical training. [Music] The athletes are interrupted by an alert. >> The onduty team leaves for their mission in town. The others keep training. [Music] There's a a lot of interruptions, but we often do 20inut exercises so we can train in between two interventions. Did Canadians or Americans invent this? Both. They invented this method because they were always interrupted during training. It's firefighters who invented this intense way of training in short amounts of time. It's called CrossFit and it's very popular in fitness clubs. In civilian life, volunteer firefighters often have another job. Leia studied advertising and Sebastian is an air traffic controller. >> We try to eat together whenever we can. He works every other day and spends the rest of his time at the fire station. [Music] I worked at the Red Cross for three or four years in rescue centers. Once we were celebrating the festival of music with the firefighters and they suggested that I join them. I didn't know I could join the firefighters that easily or that it was that simple to become a volunteer fire worker. At that time, I still thought firemen were superheroes like any kid does. One year after that, I finished training and I started working at the fire station in Luin. We'll look and see if everything's in the case and we'll test it. >> Do you have the electric pump? >> Since they signed up, Leia and Sebastian haven't yet encountered a large fire. >> They're both anxious and impatient as they wait for their big day. >> We want to go. I don't know why, but it's very exciting to know we're going to be sent to a big fire. It's already euphoric to fight against small fires. So, I guess it's the same for the big ones. >> I'm counting on this two-month season to get more experienced as a firefighter. >> So, we agreed gas is open. The starter is engaged. Indeed, there is still training to do. The novice firefighters aren't quite ready yet for a real life intervention in a forest fire, [Music] and those with experience can't predict how they'll react when confronted with real flames. [Music] >> I hope I'll get more experience fighting forest fires. As firemen, we want to go and intervene on fires, but we don't want nature to be damaged or homes to be threatened. >> Preparing for the fire season follows a simple rule. The hotter the weather gets, the more pressure is put on the troops and the officers. Tonight, the fire station in Rock Danton is filled with officers for a debriefing for a full-scale exercise simulating a forest fire taking place. This man is in charge, Jean Pierre Skillery, chief of the department's special forest fire team. >> My father was a firefighter in I spent my summer holidays at the fire station. So at 16, I naturally signed up for the first time as volunteer firefighter in No. As you said, it's easier when you actually see the fire. Jeanpierre is worried the troops aren't ready. Even if it was only a simulation, the firefighters had a lot of trouble in the hills today. 40 firefighters in three groups. Fire trucks and light vehicles deployed on land. One helicopter and a tracker plane deployed in the air to put out an imaginary fire. The chief slowly and methodically takes apart the whole exercise just like in a real intervention. Troops were deployed in the field and everything was coordinated from this mobile operations command post. Papa >> Papa Charlie, come in line two, please. sector on >> right sector on 622. Come in, please. >> Unfortunately, during the simulation, the radio relay on top of a hill did not work. The chief of operations spends an incredible amount of time simply trying to communicate with his troops. >> Papa Charlie, front sector, do you copy? >> Hello, Guom. You need to contact Bol. Either be the relay on 622 or get someone on the phone to make them switch to 663. I can't reach anyone. Communications are unreliable in the steep hills. But that's not the only problem. The troops are rusty after the winter and did not communicate precisely. >> The fire is starting 650 yards above the town of Charaval. >> Okay, it's still not very clear. I'll need you to guide me. >> Thanks to the simulation, the troops can review how to describe where the aircraft should drop water according to protocol. You can steer right and I'll send you a vertical signal from where I stand. >> Okay. [Music] >> I had to describe the fire for the plane. >> But he needed to work with me too. Wait a minute. The tracker was trying to contact you for a long time. Jean Pierre Skiller picks out every mistake and reviews it in detail so it won't be repeated when a real fire starts. >> The microphone was engaged, but the radio speaker was dead. [Music] >> It started some years ago with Captain Terrasco. He was a visionary. He thought that to do a successful intervention on forest fires, everybody needed to be on site. Whether the fire is on the side of the road, 100 yards away, or even miles away. Jean-Pierre Skiller believes in this method and demands that his troops submit to intense physical training. It's exhausting but effective. We trained for seven years. We carried hoses even though there was no intervention. Every summer, people came two times a week, and we carried miles of hoses in the heat without one call for intervention. Until that day, when an enormous fire started in Corsica, the firemen there couldn't reach it because they lacked the equipment and the training. We got called and we realized how efficient we were. It was all thanks to the hours and hours of training. Everything started from there. It was 2000. >> Since then, the defense system keeps getting better and better thanks to all the lookout posts on top of every hill in the Bushon. [Music] >> Located 2600 ft high on the Atwell mountain range. The lookout post of Gon Puesh looks out over the whole of Bushon. From this vantage point, Yanik Forno can watch over the whole department. We may have a fire starting on the highway by Lon. >> Copy that. >> Cotis, we don't have enough visibility to see it. >> The sky is cloudy today. Yanick can't see clearly and asks for more details from his other eyes, one of the other lookout posts on the summits. Do you see smoke on the highway? [Music] >> You can't panic and think there's going to be fire everywhere. Otherwise, you start seeing imaginary fires. You simply need to look at the scenery. Smoke is easy to spot. >> Today, there is no need to contact the HQ. The smoke was only a dust cloud raised by a construction site. For the past 20 years, Yannik Forno has spent four months a year here with his family or alone watching over the landscape. >> Requesting weather conditions. >> When you spend four months looking at the landscape, you get time to think and catch up on history lessons. We still have photos of the 1944 fires. You had the forest, farms, and then very dense towns. When a fire started on the hill, it stopped at the fields. But since the 1950s, houses have spread over the farmlands. And now there are houses in the forest itself. We should reinstate buffer zones. We should separate inhabited land from, well, it's sad to say, but from the flammable zone that is the forest. Since 2005, lookout posts have been equipped with special cameras for detecting forest fires. Thanks to them, the firefighting staff can keep an eye on starting fires as soon as they get reported by the lookout posts. Unlike their human counterparts who work only in the summer, the cameras work all year round. Three weeks before the beginning of forest fire season, on land and in the air, the teams get back in fighting shape after a quiet summer. Eric Odau is the pilot. He's flown more than 8,000 hours, including over forest fires. But this is the first time he signed up for a season in the Bush Dahon. Before I was a pilot, I worked as a firefighter for 7 years in Sen. Flying to a fire is kind of sacred for me. It's like being back in the family. >> Today, he's taking part in an exercise for dropping accuracy. Philip Delier is at Eric's side. He's the firefighter officer in charge of aerial communications. He's both a right-hand man and a third eye for the pilot. >> As aerial officer, I handle the radio. I make sure we're authorized to drop. I check on the safety of our colleagues on the ground. And I help the pilot in all the technical phases like uh the pumping. I do everything the pilot can't do because he's got his hands full. On land, trainer Denny Bares organizes today's exercise. The plastic tarp stretched over two containers represents a forest fire. The helicopter must pump the water and drop it over the edges of the flames. Our goal is to get the helicopters to drop water every two or three minutes. Then we'll be efficient. If the helicopter can perform 20 drops in an hour, we can extinguish fires. >> We just took off from the base. We're coming to your fire. [Music] We have a helicopter approaching your area. >> As for visuals, going to the pump, >> the helicopter is going to pump the water from a large concrete tank, which is always filled in case a fire starts. [Music] When the pilot is close to the water or the land, it's very dangerous. The craft must stay stationary for one to two minutes. >> Okay. 90%. Let's take off. >> They want a drop from south to north on the northern Tarpollen. Okay. [Music] >> Too long by 16 yd. >> He waited too long before dropping. The target was the tarpollen between the two tanks and he dropped 16 yds away. He's got to do it again. Go back to the pond, then come back for a drop on the same target. >> Roger. Same drop. Same target. Eric and Phipe do their best, but they need some time to get back in shape after spending a winter without training. >> That light is still turned on. No, wait. It's gone. >> Drop to the left from south to north. Same target. Same target. >> Roger that. You dropped too far to the left. You over dropped the fire by 20 yards. >> Hey, watch out, >> Joe. Push it back 20 yards. >> Denny Bares is getting worked up. For this perfectionist, being late just a few ten of a second for the drop means they wasted water. They let a fire grow and they also wasted a lot of fuel for nothing. >> We're still a little long. We got to correct that. >> I volunteered as a firefighter when I was 16. I wanted to fight against forest fires. I couldn't stand seeing the forest burn around my house, around my village. Eric and Philipe have one last chance to get it right. They manage to pump the water without a hitch. Eric takes off and flies right at the target. He waits for the last moment before dropping 260 gallons of water. The target is reached. It went well. The last drops were a lot more accurate than the first ones. A pilot must practice drops regularly. It's just like a truck driver trying to maneuver an 18-wheeler after two months of inactivity. If he gets a mission to go out, sure, he'll know the basics, but he'll be a little rusty. The light helicopters are the B3 S350s. They're light and easy to handle and specially equipped to fight against forest fires. The machine is equipped with a kit that can draw 300 gallons of water with a pump at the back. [Music] You've seen how the helicopter dips the pump. It takes a minute 15 minute 30 to fill the tank. Below this tank, there are two hatches. As soon as we're lined up with the objective, we open the hatch like this. When we draw water from a small tank with an opening of a square meter, we aim with the help of mirrors to dip the pump in smoothly. This aircraft is very nice because it makes smoother, easier drops, but we can't attach anything underneath. The other aircraft has got a hook beneath it, so it can carry heavy loads. But drops are more difficult with it. They require more training. It's harder. >> The rest of the day we'll spend at the firefighter school. Novices and veterans alike need to study. They're all obligated to pass a test which validates their skill level each year. [Music] Philip Delier has recovered from the stress of this morning. Summer's getting closer and the tension is growing. Philip has asked a few colleagues to train together. [Music] Before they take off, they gather for a briefing. Another part of Philip's role is to guide the helicopters and the planes from the ground. [Music] When we have to coordinate two types of aircraft on a work site, we give priority to the water bomber planes. If there's no confusion and everything is under control, we're talking and you have a clear visual contact with the helicopters, then we can even work together. We drop and you go to the side. We leave and you come back. That can work well. But if there's the slightest danger, a difficult terrain for security reasons will stop. Helicopter and planes should land. But in the end, you're in the driver's seat. We advise you and say that it's difficult, but in the end, it's up to you to decide. I'm going here. They're coming in 4 minutes. That's a big part of your job. I understand. After a theory lesson comes the practical application. Everybody gets in place for this training exercise in guiding aircraft. Philipe drives up to one of the department's summits, the King's Leg, 2,300 ft high, an overlook on Marseilles and the Mediterranean Sea. This is the perfect place to train. This rock summit has served as target practice range for water and fire retardant. So many drops have been made that it's become red. Tiier Shisha is in the air. The former fighter pilot who now is at the helm of the Canad 545 ready. >> Instead of missiles, he now carries water-filled tanks. Today, his war is against forest fires. >> There's a lot of turbulence here. And behind the leg will be under the wind. Lots of turbulence there, too. Today, Pierre is training a new pilot and introducing him to the tricks of the Canada Air. >> 45 over. >> As he watches over Province, Pierre Shisha is worried about the upcoming summer. >> We're in an intense training phase. Winter has been mild and dry. We keep a close eye on the current weather conditions in case they induce a forest fire. We're almost there. >> Pelican 34 from Arrow. Here are the obstacles on your course. There's a high tension line oriented northwest, southwest, north of the site. Repeat, north of the site. >> I see it over there. There it is. >> I want you to perform a drop between the plateau and the high tension line. North of the plateau, you have a low peak. And I want you to drop in that zone. [Music] Kennadeair are the most symbolic figures in the fight against forest fires. There are 12 of them. They were located in Marseilles until 2017. Now they reside in Neim, a more central location accessible to all of southern France. Their principal strong point, they don't have to land to refill their tanks. They can fly at low altitude and pick up water without turning off their engines. [Music] Make sure there's nothing stuck in the balless pumps. The Canad is a very particular plane. It looks like a boat. It carries many boatlike features. It's got cleats on the side. And this here prevents the bow wave from rising too hard. And this on the front looks like the hole of a boat. The Canad can carry six tons of water. They have very powerful engines and drop what they carry directly on the flames. This plane isn't fast and isn't supposed to. It carries six tons of water and flies at low speed to drop water with precision and efficiency. If it went any faster, the water would be sprayed. With the current speed, we can rely on the water mass to put fires out. The Canada Air pilots are ready for takeoff. >> This time they'll pick up water directly from the sea. It's a tricky maneuver hindered by the waves, the wind, and the boats. >> Seota Bay is an ideal practice spot. Denny Bares is trying to clear the area for the incoming planes. BLS, BLS, they're calling you on 72. Canada are arriving soon. You need to secure the area. Do you copy? >> Copy that. Let's warn those boats over there. Canadairs are arriving in the bay. You can't stay here, so be very careful. Okay, >> now let's go see that boat. >> Canadairs are doing an exercise. It's going to be very dangerous, so don't stay in the bay. >> If people get too close to the Canad, it can become dangerous very quickly. >> The Boers understand and leave without a fuss. But then a jet ski tries to avoid the firefighters. [Music] They're intercepted at the last moment. >> Canadas are coming to the bay. Please don't stay here and remain vigilant. >> Hey, get going. Thank you. >> Finally, the Canad appear in the sky. [Music] The seven planes fly as one. Perfectly aligned. perfectly synchronized like a choreographed aerial ballet. >> When five or six canidairs come to a fire, they drop 8,000 gallons of water in a few minutes. It's a lot. Fresh water, sea water, doesn't make any difference when it comes to extinguishing a fire. The plants don't like sea water, but it's better for them to be wet than burnt. A southwesterly wind rises in the bay, causing an unpredictable swell. The wind blows in gusts of 30 mph. >> The weather conditions are not ideal for pumping water. The Canada air bounces on the waves. >> Canada may be easy to handle, but the pilots can't ignore the strength of outside turbulence. >> The conditions are difficult with high swells. >> With this headstrong wind, you feel it straight away. The training exercise is almost over when a jet ski makes a sudden reappearance. This reckless person wants to take photos of the canid air and rushes straight into the plane's path. >> That's not good. That was close. We warned the jet skis, but one of them came back at the last moment in the middle of our security zone. They interfered with the plane's path. It had to slow down and then reacelerate. It lost time and they would have been slower to reach a fire. >> After tonight, the simulations stop. Training season is officially over and forest fire season takes its place. The firefighters have already experienced real danger when they didn't expect it. Today, they look ready to take on the scorching heat of the summer. However, training isn't everything. Will those who have never faced the flames in the field remain strong enough to fight against a devastating forest fire. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music]