Wildfire in southern France contained: Firefighters

PONTEVES, France – A blaze that raced through wooded hills in southern France, forcing hundreds from their homes and devouring an area twice the size of London’s Heathrow airport, has been brought under control, firefighters said on July 22.“For the moment it’s been contained in its perimeter, meaning it’s not spreading much,” regional fire chief Eric Grohin told reporters of the fire that erupted the previous day in the Var region.“Nevertheless, we still have many hot spots, flames in numerous places, so we are being very vigilant this morning.”The fire erupted on July 21 in the Var region and spread at an unexpectedly fast pace, forcing some 400 people to evacuate and devouring 2,550ha, an area roughly twice the size of London’s Heathrow airport.Nearly 1,000 firefighters and specialised