People allowed back home in southwestern France as fire weakens

Listen Summarise Authorities have allowed 144,000 people to return home in south-western France as the major wildfire near Bordeaux is now contained and the situation is stable. The wildfire burned 42,000ha of pine forests and destroyed a few hundred houses, with some areas like Cap Ferret still inaccessible. France faces an unprecedented wildfire season, with over 308 people detained for suspected arson and the burned area surpassing the 2022 record. AI generated

BORDEAUX – Thousands of people evacuated in south-western France owing to a major wildfire were gradually allowed back home on July 31 after the authorities said the fire, which has burned for more than a week, was contained.

The French authorities have ended the evacuation of 12 districts in the west and south-west of Bordeaux, allowing 144,000 people out of more than 220,000 to return home, Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said in a statement.

“The situation is stable, the fire is contained within its perimeter,” she said. “Overnight weather conditions were favourable: falling temperatures and high humidity levels.”

The A63 highway that links the city of Bordeaux with the Spanish border was reopened. However, access to the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourist hot spot where valuable properties are located, remained closed, as the only road connecting it with the mainland runs through burnt areas.

The wildfire in the Landes area west of Bordeaux has devastated 42,000ha of highly flammable pine tree forests, after a severe dry spell. The fire burned a few hundred houses.

So far in 2026, about 308 people were detained on suspicion of arson, intentional or not, in the whole country, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on July 31 morning.

France is going through an unprecedented wildfire season. The area burned has already surpassed the previous record year of 2022.

Other areas burnt during the past few weeks included Brignoles in south-eastern Provence, where inhabitants, including Hollywood actor George Clooney, his British wife Amal and their children, were evacuated. REUTERS

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