Overview

• The Aude blaze has been contained since Thursday, but about 1,400 firefighters remain on high alert to extinguish hotspots and prevent reignition.
• Meteo France has issued high-heat warnings across 11 southern departments with temperatures forecast to reach 41°C, stretching firefighting resources.
• Roads in the Aude region have reopened and residents have been allowed to return home under a strict ban on forest access while crews secure hazardous areas.
• The wildfire – France’s largest since 1949 – scorched over 160 square kilometers, killed one resident, injured at least 25 people and destroyed dozens of homes.
• Concurrent wildfires in Greece and Turkey have killed at least three people, prompted evacuations around Keratea and closed the Dardanelles Strait to shipping.