However, it will take several days before the fire is considered extinguished, according to the authorities.
The fire, which started on Tuesday, is the largest to affect the country since 1949, according to Environment Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher.
On Thursday, the French army sent additional military personnel to the fire, which then covered 17,000 hectares, of which 13,000 hectares were completely engulfed in flames. A total of 2,000 men fought the fire.
Many burned-down homes
A 65-year-old woman has died and 13 people have been injured in the fire. About 25 homes and around thirty cars have burned down. About 500 hectares of vineyards have also been completely destroyed, according to preliminary information.
An investigation is underway into what caused the fire. According to François-Noël Buffet, Minister of the Interior, they already know what started it.
Right now, professional officials are analyzing exactly what happened. It remains to be determined whether it was intentional or unintentional, he says to BFMTV.
"Devastated landscape"
Residents and tourists in nearby areas have been asked to stay in their homes as long as they have not been urged to evacuate. Around the region, temporary accommodations have taken in people who have been forced to leave their homes.
In the Corbières massif, the once green forest landscape is no longer the same.
It's very sad to think about how our region looks now, with devastated landscapes and desperate women and men. Not just today or tomorrow, but for weeks and months to come. It will take years to rebuild, says Xavier de Volontat, mayor of the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, to BFMTV.
