George Clooney evacuates French home as wildfires surge across Europe

In a letter to mayor Didier Brémond, the couple stated that they had no idea whether their property would survive the blaze. They wrote that they were committed to the community regardless of what happened to their village.

"Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we'll be part of making it whole."

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George Clooney, actor, via TheNewsHerald

The Clooneys' estate in the Var region spans 425 acres and includes an 18th‑century mansion, a pool, tennis court, vast gardens, and an ornamental lake, according to Aol. The couple purchased the property for a reported $8.3 million, making it their primary residence after moving from the United States, and were granted French citizenship.

The wildfire near Brignoles flared on a Wednesday, forcing about 700 people to evacuate before the mayor's office lifted the order the following day. Despite the containment, the Clooneys chose to leave. George Clooney has previously spoken about relocating to France to raise his children away from the culture of Hollywood and paparazzi pressure, noting that people there do not focus on fame.

Across the country, the crisis stretched emergency services to their limits. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez detailed a massive mobilization involving 3,300 firefighters, two dozen aircraft, police water cannons, and more than 130 kilometers of firebreaks created with heavy diggers. Crews from Luxembourg, Slovakia, Latvia, Germany, Serbia, and Ukraine joined the response, while Ukraine also offered assistance.

In southwest France, a monster wildfire in the Gironde region scorched more than 42,000 hectares—an area roughly four times the size of Paris. Sophie Brocas, prefect of Bordeaux's Gironde region, gave the go‑ahead for thousands of evacuees to return home as the emergency perimeter stopped expanding beyond 420 square kilometers. Regional health officials urged returning residents to wear gloves and face masks while cleaning, following a spike in asthma‑related calls to emergency wards in Bordeaux.

Local resident Sanachit Pho Ne Keo described returning to his home in Martignas‑sur‑Jalle to find only black ash on an outside terrace. Health agencies advised returnees to wash children's toys and pets' feeding bowls while keeping packed bags ready.

The heatwave triggered emergencies across the wider continent. Spain battled fires in Madrid, Ávila, Castellón, and Zamora, leaving about 10,000 people displaced in Castellón. Greece faced severe conditions as three firefighters died tackling blazes on Crete, the mainland, and the Peloponnese. Germany deployed drones and helicopters to an Alpine forest fire near the Austrian border, and Turkey fought fires in four western provinces, including Mugla and Antalya.

In the United Kingdom, a heath fire in Suffolk burned an area the size of 140 soccer pitches, prompting Prime Minister Andy Burnham to describe it as a very serious incident. Romania also shut down both reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant because low water levels in the Danube River affected cooling operations.

What comes next

• Authorities will keep the A63 highway south of Bordeaux open while monitoring wind shifts.
• Returnees have been instructed to retain charged phones and packed bags.
• Fire crews plan to continue controlled burns to remove scrub ahead of incoming flames.