Scorched Earth and Empty Homes: France's Burning Shame The inferno that has engulfed southwest France is a dual tragedy – both a natural disaster and a human made catastrophe.
The wildfires raging across Gironde have left 220,000 people without homes and forced the evacuation of another 55,000 overnight.
Successive heat waves have turned forests and scrubland into tinder dry fuel for the flames. Authorities' responses to this crisis have been haphazard at best.