France halts spread of "monster" wildfire

The fire has been fanned by wind and scorching temperatures of up to 40 Celsius in recent days

Firefighters have managed to halt the spread of a "monster" blaze in southwest France, allowing authorities to reopen a stretch of highway to traffic ahead of a busy travel weekend, Qazet.az reports according to Reuters.

"The fire did not advance overnight thanks to the significant means employed," the local prefect said in a tweet Saturday.

The southwest of France had already been hit by fires in July that destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced almost 40,000 people from their homes.