France Allows Evacuees Home as Massive Wildfire Is Contained
BORDEAUX-French authorities on Friday began allowing thousands of residents to return home after a major wildfire in southwestern France was brought under control, easing evacuation orders that had displaced more than 220,000 people during one of the country’s worst fire seasons on record.
Officials lifted evacuation orders covering 12 districts to the west and southwest of Bordeaux, enabling about 144,000 residents to return, according to a statement issued by Gironde Prefect Sophie Brocas. She said the wildfire had been contained within its perimeter following favorable overnight weather conditions, including lower temperatures and higher humidity.
Brocas said the fire situation had stabilized, although emergency services remained deployed to monitor the affected area and prevent any resurgence. Authorities cautioned that conditions could still change despite the improvement.
The A63 motorway linking Bordeaux with the Spanish border reopened after being closed because of the fire. However, authorities kept access to the Cap Ferret peninsula closed, as its only road connection to the mainland passes through areas damaged by the wildfire.
The blaze, burning in the Landes region west of Bordeaux for more than a week, has destroyed around 42,000 hectares (103,784 acres) of predominantly pine forest. The fire followed an extended period of dry weather that left vegetation highly susceptible to ignition and rapid fire spread.
The wildfire also damaged several hundred homes, although authorities have not released updated figures on the extent of property losses. Firefighters continued operations to secure the perimeter and extinguish remaining hotspots.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that around 308 people had been detained across France this year on suspicion of causing wildfires, either deliberately or through negligence. He did not specify whether any of those detentions were connected to the Landes wildfire.
France is experiencing what authorities have described as an unprecedented wildfire season. The total area burned nationwide has already exceeded the level recorded in 2022, previously the country’s most destructive wildfire year.
Recent fires have affected several parts of the country beyond southwestern France. In recent weeks, wildfires also spread near Brignoles in the southeastern Provence region, prompting evacuations that included residents and visitors from surrounding communities.
Among those evacuated from the Brignoles area were actor George Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney and their children, according to earlier reports.
Emergency authorities remain on alert as high temperatures and dry conditions continue to pose a wildfire risk across parts of France, even as weather conditions have temporarily improved in the Bordeaux region.
