Overview
- George and Amal Clooney evacuated their Domaine du Canadel estate in Brignoles with their nine-year-old twins and sent a letter to Mayor Didier Brémond saying they do not yet know if the home survived and that they will help rebuild the community.
- The wildfire near Brignoles ignited on July 29 and burned roughly 100 hectares before authorities said it was brought under control, with hundreds of residents temporarily ordered to leave and some taken to emergency shelters.
- Local officials deployed several hundred firefighters, multiple water-bomber aircraft and dozens of vehicles to fight the blaze, and authorities reported multiple firefighters were injured during the response.
- The Brignoles fire is one episode in a larger southern Europe wildfire crisis that includes a vast blaze in Gironde reported at roughly four times the size of Paris and that forced about 224,000 people to evacuate at its peak.
- With prolonged heat, low humidity and strong winds driving the season, officials warn firefighting resources remain under heavy strain and communities face an uncertain rebuilding process in the coming weeks.