PARIS—Firefighters have managed to halt the spread of a “monster” blaze in southwest France, allowing authorities to reopen a stretch of highway to traffic ahead of a busy travel weekend.
“The fire did not advance overnight thanks to the significant means employed,” the local prefect said in a tweet Saturday.
Reinforcements from across Europe helped local firefighters tackle the blaze which has ravaged forests in France’s Gironde region since Tuesday and forced 10,000 people to evacuate their homes. The fire has been fanned by wind and scorching temperatures of up to 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days.
The southwest of France had already been hit by fires in July that destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced almost 40,000 people from their homes….