French wildfire stops expanding; workers seek to tame it

PARIS (AP) — A major wildfire that ravaged pine forests in a tourist-beloved area of southwestern France has stopped expanding after rain fell overnight, and firefighters were working Sunday to tame it. An official in the Gironde region said 8,000 evacuated residents have been authorized to come back home. The fire in the Gironde and Landes regions has burned more than 74 square kilometers (29 square miles) since Tuesday. Firefighters from several European nations arrived in France on Friday to help battle the blaze. More than 232 square miles of forest has burned so far this year in France, more than any other year in the past decade.