Fire fighters in New Caledonia. Photo: Outre-mer la 1ère
New Caledonia's exhausted firemen have received welcome reinforcements from France, after weeks of battling a wave of bushfires mainly in the greater Nouméa area.
The spate of fires has on many occasions been the result of neglect, but also criminal motives, the French public prosecutor's office already stated in December.
The 30-strong French brigade, which comes from Brignolles (South of France), will stay in New Caledonia for one month.
The reinforcement comes upon a request from New Caledonia's government.
"This is the result of national solidarity', French High Commission in Nouméa pointed out.
But the bushfires are still progressing in New Caledonia, where an estimated 23,000 hectares of bush and forests have already been lost over the past few months.
Aggravating factors are the particularly dry conditions exacerbated by the effects of El Niño and strong winds.
Last weekend, New Caledonia's heat wave resulted in a barrage of storms with some 932 impacts of lightning strikes in the centre and the South of the main island, causing extended power outages.
New Caledonia's President Louis Mapou has called on the population to be more responsible in the face of what he termed "an ecological disaster".
Scenes of devastation in Mont-Dore near Nouméa. Photo: Civil security New Caledonia