84,000 return home as southwest France wildfire shows signs of easing

French authorities allowed 84,000 evacuated residents in southwest France to return home on Thursday as the massive Gironde wildfire stabilised. The move signalled possible progress in containing the blaze, even as crews stayed fully mobilised and fires raged elsewhere in southern Europe.Image used for representational purposes onlyFrench authorities on Thursday allowed 84,000 people evacuated because of a massive wildfire in the country’s southwest to return home, in the clearest sign yet that firefighters may be gaining control of the blaze. The fire has burned 42,000 hectares, or about 162 square miles, an area four times the size of Paris.The returns covered nine evacuated localities. More than 220,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since last week, and at the peak of the evacuations, a third of a million people were driven from homes and holiday sites in France and Spain.Higher humidity, cooler temperatures and light rain raised hopes that Thursday could mark a decisive step towards bringing the fire under control. Local officials reported a “rather calm” night, with the blaze not spreading beyond the 42,000 hectares already affected. Fire crews remained at “total mobilisation”, with 2,200 firefighters and more than 20 aircraft deployed.Rain fell early on Thursday in Bordeaux, east of the fire zone. Sophie Brocas, the prefect for the Gironde region, expressed some optimism that lower temperatures could help. “If that’s confirmed, we could foresee a return to a more normal life for residents, but also for businesses that need to work,” she told reporters late on Wednesday. Authorities said humidity reached 80 per cent overnight but was expected to drop by midday. Gironde officials said in a morning note that some rainfall was expected along the coast and “could reach the fire zone”. Temperatures, which peaked at around 40 degrees Celsius a day earlier, were expected to fall on Thursday, reaching 27 degrees Celsius along the coast. An “orange” heatwave alert, the second-highest level after “red”, was lifted shortly before dawn.The fires in the Bordeaux region, known for wine-growing, forests and tourism, are among blazes that have swept parts of southern Europe in recent weeks, including Spain and Greece. On Thursday, firefighters were also tackling multiple forest fires in four western provinces of Trkiye, according to the state-run Anadolu news agency. Blazes in the tourist areas of Mugla and Antalya, and elsewhere, burned overnight as hot weather and strong winds gripped the region. Residents were evacuated as teams using firefighting planes and helicopters battled the fires. A day earlier, authorities in neighbouring Greece said three firefighters had died on the island of Crete, as the wildfire emergency stretched from the Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean.Thursday’s decision to let 84,000 people return home in southwest France marked a major step after days of mass evacuations, even as firefighters stayed fully deployed and wildfires continued to burn across parts of southern Europe.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 30, 2026 13:58 IST