Right off the bat, I want to wish safety and peace to anyone in France who has been affected by the wildfires happening in Europe. There are are a lot of out of control fires happening here in Canada as well, and I sincerely hope that if you live in France, and you’re reading this right now, you and the people you love are safe and sound.
With that said, the WC superfan in me wonders: with the Les Gets race less than a month away, are there any Vital members close to the resort that can give us some intel? Is the region in danger, or does it seem like the show will go on? I hope my questions don’t come across as petty or entitled; I am genuinely curious about how things look right now in the area, and how the locals think things will play out. Hard to tell from today, with three weeks to go, but the international news is scary, and I hope the legendary venue will get another chance to host, and that Loïc can realize his goal of coming back for his favorite round of the season.
Or another way of putting it, most of the big wildfires are on the west coast. I was in the Alps earlier this month and the only disruption we could've had was increased traffic on the drive back up to St Malo (north west).
I suspect it will all be fine for the WC happening.
With the wildfires in Canada - is the WC in Whistler in danger? 😉
I'v been in Les Gets last week. All safe (at the moment)
Even if the fires aren't close, smoke can be an issue. Remember just a couple weeks ago where the Cheeto was having a temper tantrum because the smoke from Canadian wildfires in Washington DC was bad? AQI over 100 is pretty gross to be active in, and whenever a bunch of smoke piles up in a region due to mountains, air pressure systems, etc. it can easily get to the 300 range.
I am in the Alps right now, in Morzine, just over the hill from Les Gets. We are a long way from Bordeaux and no sign of smoke etc.
Hope the various wildfires across Europe can be brought under control and everyone stays safe, but don't expect it to affect the WC.
France and a lot of Europe is going through a heatwave and drought at the moment, hence the fires. However, most Euro WC happen in the Alps which never experience drought and have plenty of water to fight and contain any fires. I spent a week in the Alps at the start of the month, it was hot, above 30c, but it also rained heavily twice in a week. I live a few hours south where smaller fires have started and been put out, I don't think it has rained more than a few drops since May.
Don't worry, Les Portes du Soleil are famous for the regular rainfalls even if it is blue sky everywhere else !
in Switzerland, the first farmers bring their cows back to the valley, as there is not enough feed in the mountains due to the drought. So no, the alpes are not immune to drought, some regions of it are.
Woah, stop stop stop, please,
This thread is wild.
Yes Les Gets is a long way from Bordeaux, where the fires there are getting the most press. However there are fire's all over the country and surrounding countries of Europe.
Yes it does rain a lot in the northern French Alps, but over the past few years the number of strong, violent thunderstorms has increased. These are frequently difficult to forecast and often very localised. Where I now live, often seems to miss the storms, where as friends 20 minutes drive away still get hammered. Even Meteo Suisse struggle to accurately predict the storms. Leading on from that is that the Swiss are usually very good at forecasting and informing people of various natural hazards. So they have their fire risk info. Across the boarder from Les Gets is the canton of Valais, further east (Wallis) they have had fires in forests in recent years. Yes, it is more Mediterranean southern Alpine like there, they have lots of access to water but that doesn't mean its gonna be ok. Let's not forget lands slides that are increaingly problematic. Villages further south in the french Alps have been wiped out. La Berarde. Blatten in Switzerland was taken out also by permafrost melt/ avalanche/ mudslides.
Swiss hazards map:
https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/weather/hazards/hazard-map.html
The people on here claiming it was fine when I went to Les Gets so it will be fine in a few weeks are, luckily probably right, though based on no scientific proof. However as we see fires come increasingly further north in the Alps. Die again getting hit south of Grenoble and yesterday one much closer to Grenoble starting it doesn't mean that it can't happen around here.
To say it rains here often it'll be fine, is partly true, but as people have written it is very dry, we are in another heatwave, it hasn't rained much in general these last few months. Now put two and two together when you type. Dry ground, increased fire risk. All it takes is a strike of lightening during a violent thunderstorm and it could start in the northern french alps. Lets hope it rains enough to stop that. These thunder storms are so violent the ground doesn't have chance to absorb the moisture. There are facts about how much quicker this water rushes off and ends up in the sea compared to a steady rainfall spread out over days, as it often happened in the past.
French fire map:
https://feuxdeforet.fr/
So yeah I hope that it will be fine, but we just don't know. It's unlikely.
-----
For those interested at the very very bottom of there page there are interesting stats on meteosuisse comparing the past. Some very wet and some very dry periods recently compared to the average. These extremes are of concern:
Last 24 months compared to the reference (averages for 1991–2020):
https://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/local-forecasts/finhaut/1925.html#forec…
Thanks for your reply. The uncertainty is why I originally posed my question. It would be a shame if they had to cancel the race, but it would be devastating to lose your home, livelihood, pet, or loved one because of a natural disaster. Peace and steady rain to the south of Europe.
Post a reply to: Les Gets World Cup and the wildfires in France