George Clooney and his family have been forced to evacuate their home in southeastern France because of a wildfire burning nearby, his agent said Thursday.
The Hollywood star behind the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise and other films made the statement in a letter to Didier Bremond, the mayor of the town of Brignoles, some 90 kilometres (55 miles) east of Marseille, publicist Guido Gotz told The Associated Press in an email.
Addressed “Dear Didier,” the letter said Clooney and his wife Amal, a human rights lawyer, had “no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment”. But as they evacuate Brignoles they wanted to assure Bremond that, whatever happens to the community, “we’ll be part of making it whole,” the letter said.
The fire near Brignoles broke out Wednesday afternoon and burned some 100 hectares (250 acres), local officials said. The blaze was far smaller than a vast inferno that has swept up the region around Bordeaux in southwestern France in recent days.
Thousands of people evacuated in southwestern France due to a major wildfire were gradually allowed back home on Friday after authorities said the fire, which has burned for more than a week, was contained.
Read moreFrance, Spain eye respite from wildfires as other blazes break out in Europe
French authorities have ended the evacuation of 12 districts in the west and southwest of Bordeaux, allowing 144,000 people out of more than 220,000 to return home, Gironde prefect Sophie
Brocas said in a statement on Friday. “The situation is stable, the fire is contained within its perimeter,” she said. “Overnight weather conditions were favourable: falling temperatures and high humidity levels.”
Water-bombing helicopters remained deployed over the area after the evacuation order was lifted, the regional administration said. It said weather conditions remained unfavorable, with high temperatures and winds expected to pick up again in the afternoon.
Although France’s mega fire has eased, the dangers firefighters face haven’t
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The French government in December announced that the Clooneys along with their twins Ella and Alexander were awarded French citizenship.
The couple purchased their estate in France in 2021, and have been living there with their children. In an interview with Esquire last October, Clooney described their “farm in France” as their primary residence.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and Reuters)
