Wildfires in southern France have uncovered a cache of about 400 historic shells and other munitions in the village of Le Porge, local authorities said.
More than 100 explosions were heard during the second night of the blaze, with officials initially believing the blasts were caused by exploding gas cylinders.
However, the local fire commander said the explosions may have been caused by World War Two-era explosives detonated by the intense heat from the wildfire.
Le Porge Mayor Martial Zaninetti described the explosions as resembling “the sound of war,” saying ammunition depots had been buried in the area for decades without residents knowing about them.
“There were ammunition depots buried in land within our municipality, but we didn’t know it, and they exploded,” Zaninetti told French media.
He said some of the ammunition was propelled in different directions during the blasts, with one projectile reportedly passing through a house.
The recovered weapons, believed to be of both German and French origin, include mortar and anti-tank shells, according to French media reports.
Demining operations have allowed most residents to return to their homes, although some areas remain closed for safety reasons.
More than 180 houses were destroyed by the wildfire, which ravaged the Gironde area for about 10 days before being brought under control.
In a statement on Instagram, Zaninetti said access to the ocean, a campsite and the village of La Jenny remained prohibited.
Images from Le Porge showed residents returning to areas affected by the blaze and searching through the remains of their homes.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu thanked firefighters for their efforts, saying France had “stood firm in the face of an unprecedented crisis.”
He said the firefighting operation had entered a “new phase” in Gironde as evacuated residents gradually returned to their homes.
The discovery of the wartime munitions comes amid a wider wildfire crisis across Europe, particularly in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated over the past two weeks.
France has been among the worst-affected countries, with about 42,000 hectares of land burned in the south-west, making the fires some of the largest recorded in the region since World War Two.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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