Just received an alert email from Véolia showing all interdictions now regarding using water outside for everything. After the huge fire yesterday along the coast, stocks probably even more depleted today. Very worrying but there must be water as the trees and fields are really quite green still but unfortunately the bamboo planted everywhere to help aleviate any flooding drinks it in huge amount and very fast. There has been no rain in this part since last march that has even soaked the ground. Think they need to get that statue out again and do another procession through the town.
Whereabouts are you Shiba? (Roughly)
Presumably somewhere near the fire area… ???
Near Perpignan but otherside to the fire. I could see the smoke in the sky last evening. Its all very scary to be honest and 9/10 it is a deliberate act of arson often carried out by pompiers themselves it has been found. Feel sorry for all those vines charred, hope they manage to come back again as the wine from there is the banyuls sweet red desert style.
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Interestingly… I’ve seen a slightly different report about the fires…
Last August, FranceLive reported that 9 out of 10 fires across France… probably had a human source (accidents/negligence)… this included using machinery incorrectly, smoking, barbecues etc/whatever…
Also, 3 volunteer firemen were recognised as arsonists and “being dealt with”…
(“The cases remain exceptional and are the subject of very special attention on the part of fire brigade recruitment units.”)
Just looked at the long range meteo france and it seems we have two days of continuous torrential storms prévu for next weekend, whether it will happen or not is another thing as it changes within hours. If it does, I will be marooned as I cannot get the car out being a building site and everywhere is compacted clay at the moment so until the true level of the land is sorted, it will be wet.
Sorry to hear about the fire - scary! Hope you get your rain - mind you if it’s torrential and your ground is baked it tends to run off. 
We too get weather forecasts that promise rain which then doesn’t happen (Lot & Garonne). The two rivers often divide the weather fronts somehow so the rain misses us. I’ve just rigged up my eighth water butt and I’m looking for other places to put more. They don’t even have to be connected to guttering - I just decant from butts that are full and that then gives more capacity to refill.
We’re supposed to be driving along the coast from Perpignan to Cerbére on Weds morning, the road was closed earlier today but the fire’s now under control and I believe it’s re-opened. We’ve had one fire just above our house 2012
I’ve also twice experienced property threats from veldt fires that were even scarier as SA didn’t have the Canadaiar water bombers that the French use
So the drought has already started/didn’t go away?
The local press are saying that they’re getting July level fire threats in April and that the fire season is now effectively all year long. Not good.
When we moved to France I had assumed that the weather got better the further south one went, but for other reasons we ended up in the northern part of the Midi where it’s still forever green. Nowadays I’m continually amazed by the succession of weather disasters that hit the Vermillion Coast - they get droughts, fires and floods - not unlike Southern California…
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I live between the Agly and the Tet and they are not quite dry down here near the sea yet. The problem also is that there are dozens of camp sites all along this med coast and they are full to ovrflowing in the summer so all the use by the holidaymakers having showers,using loos and swimming pools is going to put a strain on the supply even further. My cisterns take 4L water to fill to flush properly, I found that out last summer when I had no water supply for three weeks after moving in and had to fill up at my family every two days with empty water bottles.
Our local lakes (Lacs de Haute Charente) are not full yet… still missing the water neccessary downstream to water crops.
Yesterday we were treated to an airshow - training excersise of Canadair planes taking on water from the lakes to douse wildfires…
We all have to be vigilant, even without notice and reduce consumption of drinking water as
much as possible. Grey water (from washing machines, showers, baths etc. ) can be used to water plants without harming them.
I just went and got three packs of drinking water to put aside, just in case things take a turn for the worse. Torrential rain actually forecast for tonight with storms, probably won’t come to anything as usual.
I’ll rely on our wine stock to get us through. May get some beer as back up though. We can always drink the pool water if we have to 
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But preferably not for food plants.
In a pinch even for vegetables. Or fruit trees bushes
Your tomatoes or raspberries wont taste of soap
if you dont spray the fruits
I now have a cute old white and blue can thing next to the sink, it holds 10-15l I’d say. I throw in any water from the salad spinner, old glasses ect then water my front plants. Amazing how quickly it fills up!
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We’ve “splashed out” and bought 2 more buckets…
At every basin and sink, it’s become a bit of a game seeing just what water we can “save” from going down the drain…
and I’m almost looking forward to the next Water Bill to check just how much our efforts are helping.
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Funny you should say that, I nearly bought a wine box earlier (just for emergencies as you do) but thought better of it and should finish the bottles I have at the moment. We sound like a band of drinkers.
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