'Nothing left': French wildfire survivors return to devastated homes

When Raphael Fohanno saw what was left of his parents' home after the wildfires that have wreaked havoc across southwestern France, the disbelief of finding just a smouldering shell was palpable.

"Right here was the living room; the sofa was in the corner, the TV, a coffee table, a vase, the printer, and everything," the 18-year-old said, looking at the charred timbers and mangled metal of the house the family has lived in for seven years.

"It’s incredibly brutal. Above all, feeling so helpless, that's the worst part. Well, for me, thinking that I wasn't there to help with anything, even my pets, it’s just horrible.”

His parents and sister were evacuated by helicopter while he was out and his parents have already been back to see what remained of their home in Biscarrosse.

"It’s a shock, thinking that just an hour earlier I’d been in my room and everything and now, there’s nothing left. It’s truly sad,” Fohanno said.

MEMORIES GONE UP IN SMOKE

Biscarrosse, a beach town of around 14,000 people some 40 km south of the Cap Ferret peninsula, was hit last week by a fire which began on Thursday afternoon.

More than 23,000 people were evacuated from the Biscarrosse district, including from a children's summer camp and an elderly care home, but residents have gradually started to be allowed back to some neighbourhoods.

France is going through an unprecedented wildfire season, with around 220,000 people in total forced to flee their homes in what President Emmanuel Macron has called the country's toughest wildfire crisis since World War Two.

While a major blaze around nearby Bordeaux was kept under control overnight, temperatures are expected to rise further on Wednesday, creating more volatile conditions.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on X on Tuesday that the Biscarrosse blaze took 550 firefighters and 450 police officers to control.

Beatrice Dubaquier only discovered her house had burned down when she returned on Sunday evening.

As her family searched through the debris, they recognised broken fragments of crockery: a mug that had been a birthday present, a dish that she and her husband were given for their wedding.

Dubaquier said she was experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions.

Her daughter Lucie recalled how her younger sister took her first steps in the house, and spoke her first words.

"It's pretty hard seeing all those memories go up in smoke," Lucie said.

-Writing by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Gabriel Stargardter and Alison Williams/Reuters