before dreaded “dry thunderstorms” next night, the fire is “held but not fixed”

A little hope, but also fears for the next few hours. The fire in Hostens (Gironde), near Landiras, is “held but not fixed”said Saturday August 13 the prefect of the department, Fabienne Buccio, during a press briefing at the end of the afternoon.

For two days, the flames, which have ravaged 7,400 hectares of pines on the border between the Gironde and the Landes, have not progressed. But the weather forecast for next night worries the authorities. “We have a weather problem: the storms that are announced to us are dry storms. Without rain but with lightning that will fall to the groundspecifies the prefect. I prefer to be honest: the night could well be difficult.”

The first thunderstorms are announced around 9 p.m. by the meteorological services. Wind gusts could reach up to 60 km/h in the evening.

In France, the surface areas of the areas ravaged by fires are three times greater than the annual average for the past ten years, and the year 2022 has broken records in the European Union since the start of the surveys in 2006. In a context of global warming, the historic drought experienced by a large part of the European continent increases the risk of forest fires.