Thousands of families in darkness from the devastating fire in southern France, over 2,300 homes without power

A large fire has engulfed the Var region in southern France, causing mass evacuations and leaving thousands of homes without electricity. To bring the flames under control, authorities have deployed hundreds of firefighters and aerial resources.

The flames broke out on Tuesday in the French department of Var and continue to advance, still threatening many populated areas. By Tuesday evening, the fire had burned thousands of hectares of land, and for safety reasons, hundreds of residents were evacuated.

During the night hours, improved weather allowed ground teams to work on isolating active hotspots and extinguishing the hottest spots. Before darkness halted flights, planes and helicopters carried out more than 100 water drops on the flames.

A total of eight Canadair planes, four firefighting helicopters and two Dash aircraft were involved in this aerial mission.

For several weeks, France has been battling daily fires fueled by heatwaves and a prolonged drought. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced that since the beginning of 2026, around 40,000 hectares have burned, a figure far higher than the entire area affected by flames last year.