the fire still not fixed, firefighters fear thunderstorms and lightning

At the wheel of his truck, a retired volunteer tracks down fires in the town of Hostens (Gironde). “I’m a bit like the rolling PC“, he comments. As soon as he spots flames, he calls in the professionals, who intervene in a few minutes. Resumptions, there are every day. On the roads, also farmers. Louis Vandenburie, 23 years old, has been present for six days. Came from the Gers, he helps with his tank truck. “We sleep when we can, we constantly supply the firefighters, we water the firewalls“, he explains.

Arrived 24 hours ago, foreign firefighters are also hard at work. German firefighters turn the earth and water the edges, amazed. “This is the worst fire I have ever seen. In Germany we do not know such large fires“, notes Simon Fritz, German firefighter. The situation is still sensitive, because if the fire is no longer progressing, it is still not fixed.

Firefighters now fear thunderstorms. “According to the firefighters, it’s the night of all dangers“, specifies the journalist Jean Poustis, live from Hostens. “What they fear above all are these dry storms, without rain, with gusts of wind and especially lightning., he continues. The firefighters will be in contact with Météo France throughout the night to find out where exactly the lightning will fall.