PORCHERES (33) 31.08.2024

On 31 August 2024 between 22:35 and 22:55, a witness in a garden in Porchères (33) saw several orange lights appear and disappear rapidly low in the sky between south and west. A thunderstorm was approaching from the south. Strangeness and evidential support are both moderate, with 1 witness and no photograph of the UAP. The investigation identifies probable hail-suppression balloons, particularly the burning salt bags they carry (see the investigation report). GEIPAN defines evidential consistency as the amount of information in an account considered reliable and objectively supported. The orange color and limited duration of the lights fit this explanation. The viewing directions also correspond to Bordeaux vineyards to the west and south. The approaching storm front was about 30 km from the observation location, a distance at which hail-suppression balloons are usually launched. Contacted by email, the local winegrowers' association confirmed that 30 such balloons were launched that evening, although their precise locations were unknown. GEIPAN classifies the case B: probable hail-suppression balloons.