Chloé Lagadou, edited by Ophélie Artaud 7:53 a.m., August 13, 2022

7,400 hectares have burned since the fire resumed this week, amplified by the heat wave.

But the fire could calm down thanks to the thunderstorms expected this Saturday evening in the southwest.

If the rain could help the 1,500 French and European firefighters in their fight against the fire, we must remain cautious, especially in the event of dry storms.

Will the fire in Gironde finally calm down?

Already 7,400 hectares burned since the resumption of fire in Landiras this week.

Last night, the inhabitants of certain sectors of the Landes municipalities of Moustey and Saugnacq-et-Muret were authorized to return to their homes.

The authorities have also decided to reopen the A63, which connects Bordeaux to Spain.

The fire has not progressed for 48 hours.

In the rest of France, 660 hectares of vegetation also burned in the Jura.

In Brittany, nearly 300 hectares of the Brocéliande forest went up in smoke, but the fire was two-thirds contained on Friday afternoon.

In Ardèche, another fire started on Wednesday evening has been fixed.

“We follow the weather as it goes”

The storms which will therefore arrive from the South-West will perhaps put an end to the heat wave episode, but could also be a double-edged sword.

At present, we can no longer speak of a wall of flames on the spot, the 40 kilometers over which the fires extend are treated.

There are still a few small flames in the areas already burned.

This Saturday again, 1,500 French and European firefighters continue to fight on the ground day and night.

But the weather conditions are a double-edged sword.

Thunderstorms accompanied by rain are expected this Saturday evening.

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However, Gironde fire chief Marc Vermeulen remains cautious.

"It will depend on what type of storm it is. If it is a storm that brings us intense rain, I will be the happiest of the departmental directors of the fire services. If now, on the contrary, these are dry storms , on the other hand, it will rather annoy us since it can happen that we have lightning that touches the peat and that, depending on the winds behind, it generates new outbreaks of fires. over time,” he explains.

Especially since Météo-France forecasts gusts of up to 70 kilometers per hour on Sunday evening.

So if it doesn't rain by then, the situation could be very problematic.