World·NewIn Le Temple, a typically quiet country road lined on one side with with corn crops and the other, tight rows of pine forest, turned into a buzzing firefighting base Wednesday afternoon.High temperatures revive smouldering embers, as exhausted crews lean on local volunteers to keep battle goingVerity Stevenson · CBC News · Posted: Jul 29, 2026 6:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Firefighters outside Bordeaux, France, raced to contain reignited embers Wednesday amid extreme heat conditions. (Angela Johnston/CBC)At Le Temple, a normally quiet country road bordered by cornfields on one side and tightly planted pine forest on the other became a busy firefighting base Wednesday afternoon.Smouldering hot spots in the forest floor repeatedly burst into flame as crews moved quickly from one to another. Firefighters from across France doused the flames, then poured bottled water over themselves during breaks beside trucks parked on the sun-baked pavement. The flare-ups were part of the continuing fight against a major wildfire west of Bordeaux that had burned 240,000 hectares and forced 220,000 people to evacuate as of 3:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to the Gironde prefecture.VideoWildfires in Bordeaux lead to largest peacetime evacuations in France’s historyVideoFrance battles massive wildfire as heat wave threatens renewed spreadWater bombers emerged through the smoke above the trees, one after another for about an hour, dropping water along the forest edge while ground crews attacked hot spots below.A water bomber flies above a wildfire near Le Temple, France, Wednesday afternoon. (Angela Johnston/CBC)Soldiers from the nearby Camp de Souge army base soon arrived to control traffic and restrict access to the area. Groups of volunteers and farmers from surrounding towns, organized informally and working on their own initiative, waited on the outskirts with water tanks mounted on their trucks."It is a small victory," said Lt.-Col. Didier Nicolleau of the Vienne fire and rescue service after crews quickly contained a flare-up along the forest edge. But the work is constant, he said. Hot, dry conditions mean even small pockets of lingering heat can ignite nearby vegetation again. A human-made forest is at the centre of France's raging wildfiresOnce-again soaring temperatures in France and Spain was complicating efforts to contain forest fires that multiple experts told CBC News were unprecedented in scale. Lt.-Col. Didier Nicolleau of the Vienne fire and rescue service stands on a road near smouldering fires in a pine forest outside Bordeaux, France, Wednesday. (Angela Johnston/CBC)Crews feel the strain Romain, a Paris firefighter who has been rotating through the area since the fire began, said the physical toll was beginning to show. CBC News is identifying him only by his first name because firefighters who were not commanders were not permitted to provide their surnames. "We're starting to get tired," he said. "It's very difficult." He said support from local residents had helped lift firefighters' morale. Along the roadside, volunteers hauled large water tanks filled from nearby lakes, allowing firefighting crews to refill their trucks without leaving the fire zone. Tommy Planeilles said he had volunteered every day since Friday, often working until 2 or 3 a.m. before returning a few hours later. "We want to save our forest," he said. "The forest is beautiful, with the animals and everything. When it's burned, it's not the same." Tommy Planeilles, who lives in Sainte-Hélène, France, outside Bordeaux, has been helping firefighters with water supply over the past week. (Verity Stevenson/CBC)Planeilles, who lives in Sainte-Hélène, near Bordeaux, said many volunteers stayed behind even after evacuations began. While children and many families left, he and others remained to help protect their village before moving on to assist neighbouring communities.He said residents have learned from the devastating 2022 Gironde wildfires that even when flames appear extinguished, the danger isn't over. "The fire goes underground," he said. "Sometimes everything is calm at night, then we wake up the next morning and it starts all over again." Firefighters from Paris take a short break while battling engulfed embers in Le Temple, France. Some in the crew battled the Fontainebleau fire near Paris earlier this year. (Verity Stevenson/CBC)Questions about logistical support The reliance on local volunteers also raised questions for at least one business owner about whether crews were receiving enough logistical support.Laurent Maury, who owns a supermarket in Le Porge, said a firefighting commander called him late at night seeking gasoline because crews could not obtain it through normal channels. He said he contacted his supplier, who remotely opened the pumps for firefighters. An hour later, he said, another commander called with the same request. "It's not surprising. Citizens know what needs to be done for their village," Maury said. He added, "it's a shame to see that the organization isn't at the level it should be."ABOUT THE AUTHORVerity is a reporter for CBC in Montreal. She previously worked for the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal.With files from Nahlah Ayed, Angela Johnston and Rafael Miró