Europe 1 with AFP 4:24 p.m., August 14, 2022

More than 1,050 hectares of forest have been reduced to ashes in the Jura this week, while several hundred hectares are still "threatened" on Sunday despite the arrival of precipitation.

In total, four fires have blackened the massifs of the Petite Montagne du Jura, in the south-east of the department, two of which are still in progress on Sunday.

More than 1,050 hectares of forest have been reduced to ashes in the Jura this week, while several hundred hectares are still "threatened" on Sunday despite the arrival of precipitation.

It's historic", according to the authorities who speak of fires of "unprecedented scale".

Four fires in total

In total, four fires have blackened the massifs of the Petite Montagne du Jura, in the south-east of the department, two of which are still in progress on Sunday.

The most important, which began on Tuesday, has ravaged for some 700 hectares in the sector of Vescles and Cernon, with always "a risk of spreading several hundred hectares", according to the prefecture.

Not far from there, another fire which broke out on Saturday near the town of Montlainsia consumed 200 hectares of forest, 400 others being threatened.

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The reinforcement of the rain

The rain which began to fall at the end of the morning on the south of the department should make it possible to avoid resumptions and to slow down the heads of fire, according to the firefighters.

However, these precipitations raise fears of landslides on the charred sectors, a hamlet having been evacuated as a precaution in Menouille after an emergency expertise carried out by the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM).

In the Cornod and Sarrogna sectors, however, the two lights are now extinguished.

162 hectares burned there.

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279 firefighters mobilized

A total of 279 firefighters are fighting these fires, those of the Jura being supported by reinforcements from six departments in the east and center of the country.

Four Canadairs, two water bomber helicopters and Dash planes also supported the ground combat of the firefighters, unheard of in eastern France.

The Jura has been classified at the ultimate level of drought since August 1, in a “crisis” situation.

The previous significant fire in this department dated back to 2018. 110 hectares had gone up in smoke after a poorly extinguished fire during a scout camp in Maisod.

In the Vosges, where 15 fire starts were recorded on Saturday, 50 hectares of forest burned at Ménil.

The fire has been contained, but strong risks of resumption persist due to an expected wind blowing between 50 and 70 km/h.

Soon a meeting at the Élysée

On Saturday, Emmanuel Macron spoke with the president of the Jura Departmental Council, Clément Pernot, the local firefighters manager, the prefect and the deputy Danielle Brulebois (LREM), after the resumption of the fires.

The Head of State plans to bring together all the actors from the departments concerned, once the fires have been extinguished, in order to reflect on the "model of prevention and fight against fires" in France, added Sunday the Elysée confirming a information from the JDD.