Thousands of residents evacuated due to wildfires in south-western France have begun returning home as authorities reported a stabilising situation in parts of the affected region.
The prefecture of the Landes region announced on Tuesday that about 15,000 residents had been allowed to return to their homes, particularly around the town of Biscarrosse, where firefighters brought a major blaze under control on Monday.
Authorities said the larger fire in the neighbouring Gironde region, whose capital is Bordeaux, did not spread overnight, leaving conditions stable for about two days.
In spite of the improvement, the prefecture in Bordeaux said full operational readiness was being maintained because of the continued unpredictability of the wildfire situation.
Officials warned that a new heatwave could significantly raise temperatures and lower humidity levels, increasing the risk of renewed fire activity.
As a precaution, sports and cultural events had been temporarily suspended across the region.
French authorities said 2,750 firefighters, supported by personnel from other European countries, were deployed to contain the fires.
The response also included 18 water-bombing aircraft, 1,500 soldiers and 1,440 police officers.
On Monday, Germany dispatched two transport helicopters and an A400M military transport aircraft carrying supplies to support firefighting operations.
Firefighters also cleared firebreaks at several locations in the forest to prevent further spread of the blaze.
Authorities said more than 220,000 people had been evacuated since Wednesday from the Atlantic coast holiday region, a popular destination for tourists from across Europe.
The wildfire came within 15 kilometres of Bordeaux and had destroyed about 42,000 hectares of forest and scrubland, covering an estimated 420 square kilometres.
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