Earth Wind and Fire?

The last three years in Chamonix have seen a series of disasters, starting with the floods of June 1996, and in the space of the last few months, a series of avalanches and fires.

The floods of 1996 caused considerable damage to many buildings in Chamonix, such as the pool, the ice rink and the Salle Michel Croz. Even though the floods were quite extreme (in some places there was up to a metre of water!), they caused no loss of life. The floods occured due to two events: large amounts of rainfall (I was there: 3 days of sunshine out of a three week climbing holiday!), and the release of water from a huge natural reservoir inside the Glacier du Tour.

In February 1999, more snow fell in a couple of days than usually falls in a month! The depth of fresh snow made the snow pack unstable, as it did not have enough cohesion to hold up its own weight, causing a large number of avalanches. On the 9th of February 1999, more than a dozen avalanches fell in the morning alone!

At 14h45, a huge avalanche devasted the village of Montroc, below Le Tour. Seventeen chalets, most of which were occupied, were swept away by an enormous avalanche, with a speed of at least 150 km/h. the road having been blocked off by the heavy snowfalls and numerous avalanches, the rescuers had to reach the disaster area by skis, and once there, they were greeted by the torn debris of the houses covered in several metres of snow.

The rescuers worked throughout the evening and throughout the night. Every minute counts: if someone is not discovered 1 hour after having been buried, his chances of survival are less than 10%. Several people were rescued from the debris, others weren't so lucky.

This was the first time in over a hundred years the this particular avalanche "du Peclerey" fell. The chalets were deemed to be in a safe area (known as "zone blanche"). No one expected the avalanche, if it were to occur, to cross the river L'Arve and climb up the slope to the chalets. Of the most touching rescued remembered by the press was Raphael, whose parents and sister died in their chalet, was rescued around midnight.

I will probably take a long time for the valley to recover from this disaster. Nevertheless, this may also cause a reassessment of avalanche dangers in the Alps, and lead to safer construction. This will hopefully save more lives, but this can only be achieved if something is done to ensure that changes are made. This event must not be forgotten, and I am afraid that it will be by building

entrepreneurs in the next few years.

See at the end of this page for contact adresses if you wish to make a donation to the families and the Association in Aid of Avalanche Victims.

15th February, 1999, as if the large number of avalanches wasn't enough a fire broke out in the Salle Michel Croz. The gardians Jean Paul and Marie-Jeanne Bouilloux managed to flee the building on time. the fire took several days to be completely put out. The loss was tremendous: many historical pieces were lost from the museum, the Hotel Victoria, built in the 19th century, burnt down, and many of the shops (including Sanglard Sport) were damaged. Many paintings from the Loppe collection were lost, and will never be replaced.

The Back of the Salle Michel Croz: only the facade is left!

The Firemen strive to keep control of the blaze

April 1999, yet another fire hits the Chamonix valley. This time inside the Tunnel du Mont Blanc, whichlinks Chamonix with Italy. A refrigerated truck caught fire. The blaze spread to another truck containing rolls of paper and also spread to other cars. On the Italian side, the incoming cars were able to turn back, but several cars got trapped on the French side. The death toll is of about 30, although this is still being assessed. The blaze became completely uncontrollable, and raged for several days. Temperatures at the heart of the tunnel reached 1000 degrees Celsius, enough to melt the pavement. Some of the drivers tried to reach shelter in the special shelter, but these did not stop the heat from spreading, and they died.

The tunnel is still closed, and probably will remain closed for a long time. Once again there has been an inquest into why the fire became so uncontrollable.

For more information on the Association in Aid of Avalanche Victims ("Association d'aide aux victimes d'avalanches") ring 00 33 + 4 50 53 75 01

To donate money to Raphael who lost his parents in the avalanche, a special bank account has been created at the Credit Mutuel, 19 Rue Whymper.

Sources for pictures and some of the info: "Chamonicipal" Numero Special 68, Mars 1999. Pictures are in Black and White because that's how they were in the brochure. Web Page written 8th April 1999.