George and Amal Clooney have evacuated their home in Brignoles in the South of France after a wildfire swept through the area, forcing hundreds of residents to flee and threatening neighborhoods around the town.
In a letter addressed to Brignoles Mayor Didier Brémond, the couple said they did not know whether their home – a hilltop estate called Domaine du Canadel — would survive the blaze but pledged to help rebuild the community.
“We do not know whether our beautiful home will survive this terrible ordeal,” the Clooneys wrote. “As we evacuate Brignoles, we want to emphasize two things: We hope that you and the residents are safe. Amal and I are determined to ensure that, whatever happens to our village, we remain fully part of this community and contribute to its rebuilding. We love Brignoles and the friends we have there.”
The fire burned through around 130 hectares near Brignoles between Wednesday and Thursday, prompting the evacuation of roughly 600 residents and injuring four firefighters,” according to Le Figaro. The blaze was brought under control thanks to the deployment of aerial firefighting aircraft alongside 270 firefighters and 70 vehicles, per the AFP.
Firefighters remained on the ground Thursday morning working to secure the perimeter and extinguish hotspots before temperatures rise and southerly winds strengthen later in the day, Le Figaro reported, citing the prefecture of Var, where Brignoles is located.
