The raging wildfire in Gironde, France, near Bordeaux, which made world headlines in the past week and caused the evacuation of more than 200,000 residents and holiday-makers, has finally been “contained”, although it is not yet totally extinguished.
Two hotspots remain active, namely the Cap Ferret peninsula and the dune belt south of Lacanau, according to the Prefects of Gironde and the Nouvelle-Aquitane region.
Of the 224,000 people who were evacuated, a further 10,000 are able to return home today, bringing the total to 208,000, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed at a press conference today, Saturday 1 August 2026.
Var still “very high risk” as George Clooney & family evacuated from French home”
The Gros Bessillon “very high risk” fire in the Var department had also been contained, but has started up again.
In the latest update – on Saturday afternoon (14:45) – the Var Prefect reported: “The fire has burned 1,500 hectares. Firefighting operations are continuing with a massive deployment of resources to contain its spread and protect both the population and property.” He said 1300 firefighters have been deployed.
Earlier this week George Clooney and his family were evacuated from their Brignoles home in the area. In a moving letter to the mayor, Clooney wrote that “we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment” and stressed “first we hope you and the people of our city are safe and second that Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we’ll be part of making it whole. We love Brignoles and our friends who live there.”
Very Severe Warnings for the Var region
The Var Prefect announced that the fire risk on Sunday, 2 August in the Var region is ‘VERY SEVERE’ that that they’ve ordered the closure of the following mountain rangers: Sainte-Baume, Haut-Var, Maures, Monts Toulonnais, Corniche, Estérel, Îles d’Hyères and Centre-Var.
Access, traffic, walking and work in those areas is prohibited.
“The rest areas on the A57 motorway at Lauvets, Suvé du Vent, Gonfaron, and Sigues, and on the A8 motorway at Saint-Hilaire, Barcelone, Candumy, Roudaï, and Jas Pelicot, are closed to traffic,” said the prefect.
Police are hunting down arsonists. The Var Gendarmerie said today: “Every fire has a cause. Our mission: to find it.”
Trains resume in south western France
Trains have resumed today, after being suspended on 26 July. In a notice about wildfires in Gironde and Landes, SNCF said “Following an exceptional mobilisation, train services south of Bordeaux will gradually resume from Saturday. You can now purchase new tickets.”
Guidelines for evacuees returning to Gironde
Gironde’s Prefect Sophie Brocus announced which areas residents can return to, and stressed several guidelines that must be followed, namely:
- don’t turn off your phone
- follow instructions from the authorities
- remain vigilant and don’t approach secure or prohibited areas
- facilitate any intervention of emergency services and technical teams in the area
Brocus said this was “the largest firefighting operation in the modern history of Civil Security” and reportedly the country’s largest wildfire since 1949.
She added that: “To our knowledge, at this stage, there are no deaths or injuries, except among the firefighters.” She revealed that more than 330 firefighters have been treated out of the 3,300 mobilized.
A total of 42,000 hectares burned, and at least 240 homes were destroyed.
Apart from the thousands of firefighters from across the country, so many others have also responded to the crisis – including “1,500 military personnel, 1,250 police officers and gendarmes, foresters, farmers, and a host of volunteers” as well as 24 aircraft, seven of which have been provided by the EU, according to Les Echos.
Alpes-Maritimes Prefect issues Public Notice about the Smell of Smoke
The Prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes said in a public notice that “the smell of smoke is currently noticeable in the western part of the department. This is due to ongoing fires in the Var. 🔥”
Unless there’s a fire starting or localised smoke nearby, there’s no need to contact emergency services.
“However, if you spot a fire starting or anything suggesting a potential fire, call 18 or 112 immediately,” said the Prefect.
France and the UK’s joint statement on wildfires and action on Climate Change
In a joint statement on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, the foreign affairs ministers for France and the UK reaffirmed their “shared determination” to address the global climate crisis following the unprecedented wildfires and heatwaves being experienced across Europe. (In France this weekend, more than 20 departments have received an Orange alert concerning heatwaves.)
The two ministers said they affirmed that “this summer’s wildfires demonstrated the risks posed to Europe by climate change and call on all countries to intensify their efforts to tackle its causes while boosting resilience to its effects.”
The ministers said that they commit to strengthen their cooperation, recognising that the increasing impacts of climate change “know no borders”.
They reaffirmed their support for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement and its temperatures goals.
The ministers also called on all parties, particularly major emitters, “to publish their nationally determined contributions (NDC) aligned with the 1.5°C temperature goal, covering all sectors and greenhouse gases, and contributing to transitioning away from fossil fuels, as adopted in the First Global Stocktake at COP28”.
