Wildfires evacuate 36,000 people in southwest France

PARIS: Two massive wildfires raging in southwestern France over the past week have evacuated at least 36,000 people from home and burned 20,600 hectares of land, French media reported.

During a visit to the fire zones in Gironde, French President Emmanuel Macron announced a major national project to replant trees and regrow the damaged forests, Xinhua news agency reported, citing France's BFMTV.

Macron called the firefighters heroes and thanked the French people for their solidarity with the police and firefighters in the department of Gironde to overcome the blaze.

He described the wildfires that broke out on July 12 as "one of the severest" in the history of France, and the country's aerial units of the fire brigade, the "most modern in Europe".

The firefighters said the fire vigilance warning will be extended in Gironde until October.

Local authorities told BFMTV that the two fires were put under control Tuesday night and increased humidity in the coming days will help extinguish the flames.