Firefighters have contained a vast wildfire in the Gironde region of southwestern France, allowing nearly 200,000 people to return to their homes. Authorities stated the situation has stabilized after the fire burned for more than a week, marking what may have been the country’s largest peacetime evacuation.
The massive wildfire west of Bordeaux burned through 42,000 hectares and destroyed more than 200 homes. The blaze, caused by a major heatwave across Europe, resulted in the deaths of two firemen and forced the evacuation of 220,000 people.
Despite the containment in the southwest, renewed fires in France and Greece highlighted how quickly firefighting progress can be reversed. In the Mediterranean Var, a fire raced across the area after it was thought to have stopped advancing, while hundreds of people were evacuated by sea from a Greek resort.