Fires in Ain plagued by drought – Le Figaro

Some 300 hectares were burnt on Thursday in Saint-Maurice-de-Gourdans (Ain), requiring significant resources including air to control the fire, according to firefighters. The fire started around 16:00 “near a break” before spreading to the low vegetation. Fifty rescue vehicles, 150 firefighters Ain, Rhone, Loire and Isère, and four Canadair from Marignane (Bouches-du-Rhône) mobilized in an unaccustomed department see passing water bomber aircraft. And they managed to control the situation later in the evening. A total of 300 hectares have been burned and 200 were covered by the flames, firefighters detail

However, teams will take turns throughout the night due to inclement weather. A temperature close to 30 degrees in the evening , low humidity and wind. “A gust of wind can leave an incandescent particle,” said a firefighter.

The Ain department in 1000 ponds, is rarely the scene of summer fires of this type. But little rain since spring and the persistent heat since late June has turned the region into a bone-dry land that could ignite at the slightest spark.

The Ain is also classified vigilance drought: professionals and individuals are invited to save water but no restrictions are imposed. If the situation worsened, the prefect may decide to classify areas into “alert”, “heightened alert” or even “crisis,” while involving levies prohibitions more or less stringent.

Many fires lower magnitudes have also affected the rest of the Rhône-Alpes region and the departments of Auvergne and Burgundy regions in recent days. Thursday night, 30 vehicles and 100 firefighters were fighting against a forest fire (for now limited to 15 acres) on the heights of Thiers in the Puy-de-Dôme, do we learned from the firefighters confirming a report regional daily La Montagne. In the Yonne in Saint-Clément, a crop fire destroyed 130 hectares, reports L’Yonne Republican.