LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) — French authorities ordered 4,000 more people evacuated from Atlantic coast tourist sites Tuesday, widening what may be France's largest peacetime evacuation as returning heat threatened firefighters' fragile hold on a vast wildfire west of Bordeaux.
Fire crews held the blaze in the Gironde region in check through a calm night, bringing flare-ups near coastal dunes under control and keeping the burned area unchanged at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles). Authorities called the fire stabilized, but not contained, and said it was still capable of breaking loose as temperatures rose and humidity fell.
Fresh flames erupted later Tuesday near Grand Crohot, a popular Atlantic beach on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula, local authorities said. A fleet of 23 planes and helicopters — up from 18 — dropped water and fire retardant as crews fought to keep the renewed flames from spreading.
"The situation remains complicated. That's clear. We're not out of the woods," Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said.
Brocas said residents evacuated from three communities near Bordeaux where no fires had broken out were being allowed to go home, but only if they kept their mobile phones on and an emergency bag packed.
