Une mission secrète a permis de sauver de l'un des incendies qui ravagent l'Australie le dernier site naturel au monde de pins de Wollemi, un arbre préhistorique découvert en 1994, ont révélé mercredi des responsables.
Moins de 200 de ces arbres protégés existent encore à l'état naturel, cachés dans une gorge dans les Blue Moutains, une zone montagneuse située au nord-ouest de Sydney et classée par l'UNESCO au patrimoine mondial de l'humanité.
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La région a été touchée par l'un des incendies géants qui frappent l'Australie depuis plusieurs mois.
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![This January 9, 2020, aerial image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a gorge of Wollemi Pines in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis January 9, 2020, aerial image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a gorge of Wollemi Pines in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This January 9, 2020, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter checks a Wollemi Pine branch in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis January 9, 2020, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter checks a Wollemi Pine branch in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This December 14, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter rappeling into a gorge in the Blue Mountains of Australia, as a crew tries to save Wollemi Pines. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis December 14, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter rappeling into a gorge in the Blue Mountains of Australia, as a crew tries to save Wollemi Pines. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This December 22, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter dousing a Wollemi Pine with water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis December 22, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter dousing a Wollemi Pine with water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This December 14, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter filling a pump with petrol to siphon water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis December 14, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter filling a pump with petrol to siphon water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This December 22, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter dousing a Wollemi Pine with water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis December 22, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter dousing a Wollemi Pine with water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![This December 18, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter siphoning water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis December 18, 2019, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter siphoning water in the Blue Mountains of Australia. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![TOPSHOT - A car makes its way through thick fog mixed with bushfire smoke in the Ruined Castle area of the Blue Mountains, some 75 kilometres from Sydney, on January 11, 2020. - Massive bushfires in southeastern Australia have a]()
AFPTOPSHOT - A car makes its way through thick fog mixed with bushfire smoke in the Ruined Castle area of the Blue Mountains, some 75 kilometres from Sydney, on January 11, 2020. - Massive bushfires in southeastern Australia have a "long way to go", authorities have warned, even as colder conditions brought some relief to exhausted firefighter and communities. (Photo by SAEED KHAN / AFP) -
![This January 9, 2020, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter rappeling into a gorge in the Blue Mountains of Australia, as a crew tries to save Wollemi Pines. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as]( "Secret mission saves Australia's 'dinosaur trees' from bushfires")
AFPThis January 9, 2020, image obtained from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment shows a firefighter rappeling into a gorge in the Blue Mountains of Australia, as a crew tries to save Wollemi Pines. - A secret operation by specialist firefighters has saved the world's last stand of Wollemi Pines, a pre-historic species known as "Dinosaur trees", from Australia's unprecedented bushfires, officials said. Fewer than 200 of the trees exist in the wild, hidden in a gorge in the World Heritage Blue Mountains north of Sydney. With flames approaching the area late last year, firefighters deployed air tankers to drop fire retardant in a protective ring around the trees while specialist firefighters were winched down into the gorge to set up an irrigation system to provide moisture for the grove, officials said (Photo by HO / AFP) / ---EDITORS NOTE ----RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment/ NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-NO ARCHIVE -
![TOPSHOT - Burnt trees are seen after a bushfire in Mount Weison in Blue Mountains, some 120 kilometres northwest of Sydney, on December 18, 2019. - Australia this week experienced its hottest day on record and the heatwave is expected to worsen, exacerbating an already unprecedented bushfire season, authorities said on December 18. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)]()
AFPTOPSHOT - Burnt trees are seen after a bushfire in Mount Weison in Blue Mountains, some 120 kilometres northwest of Sydney, on December 18, 2019. - Australia this week experienced its hottest day on record and the heatwave is expected to worsen, exacerbating an already unprecedented bushfire season, authorities said on December 18. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
«Une mission de protection environnementale sans précédent», a alors été mené pour sauver ces arbres, a déclaré dans un communiqué Matt Kean, ministre de l'Environnement de Nouvelle-Galles-du-Sud, un État du sud-est de l'Australie.
Les précieux pins, une espèce vieille de plus de 200 millions d'années, étaient considérés comme une espèce disparue jusqu'à ce que le site soit découvert en 1994 en Nouvelle-Galles-du-Sud dans le parc naturel de Wollemi, d'où leur appellation.
La localisation des pins, parfois surnommés «arbres dinosaures», a été un secret bien gardé pour les protéger de toute contamination par des visiteurs.
AFP
Fin 2019, alors que les flammes s'approchaient de la zone protégée, les pompiers australiens ont eu recours à des avions bombardiers d'eau pour larguer du produit retardant en un anneau protecteur autour des pins.
Et des pompiers spécialisés ont été hélitreuillés dans la gorge où se cachent les arbres pour y installer un système d'irrigation afin de leur fournir de l'humidité, ont expliqué des responsables.
«Le feu est bien passé dans la zone, nous avons eu plusieurs jours de fumée épaisse aussi ne pouvions-nous pas savoir s'ils avaient été touchés. Nous attendions tous avec anxiété», a expliqué Matt Kean sur la radio ABC, mais finalement «l'opération a été un succès phénoménal».
AFP
Depuis leur découverte en 1994, des pins de Wollemi ont été répartis dans des jardins botaniques à travers le monde pour préserver l'espèce. Mais la gorge qui vient d'être sauvée du feu est le seul site où ces arbres se trouvent encore à l'état naturel.
Et ce site est soigneusement protégé. «Des visites illégales restent une menace pour la survie des pins de Wollemi à l'état sauvage en raison des risques de piétinement des nouvelles pousses et d'introduction de maladies qui pourraient dévaster la population restante», a estimé Matt Kean.
Depuis octobre, les incendies de forêt australiens ont fait 28 morts, détruit plus de 2000 habitations et brûlé 10 millions d'hectares, une superficie supérieure à celle de la Corée du Sud ou du Portugal.
Près d'un milliard d'animaux pourraient avoir péri dans ces incendies et de nombreuses espèces sont à présent menacées d'extinction, selon des organisations environnementales.
