France declares major Gironde wildfire contained as evacuees return home

France's Interior Ministry has declared that the massive wildfire in the Gironde region is no longer progressing, allowing most of the 220,000 to 224,000 evacuees to return to their homes. The blaze, described as the largest in France in over 70 years, prompted the largest evacuations in the country since World War II. The effort to contain the fire involved a coalition of international support through the EU crisis management mechanism, with aircraft and crews sent from countries including Germany, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Czechia, Switzerland, and Turkey. Local volunteers also assisted by using tractors and vans to transport water to the front lines.

The human cost of the Gironde fire included four deaths and 264 injuries among firefighters. Despite the containment of the Gironde blaze, other fires continue to rage across Europe, specifically in Greece and Spain. Additionally, a separate wildfire in the mountainous southeastern Var department flared up on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearly 2,500 people. EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib has called for a budget of 10.7 billion euros to better anticipate and prevent climate fueled disasters, stating that climate change is already present.