George and Amal Clooney evacuated their 18th-century estate in the South of France overnight as a wildfire tore through the nearby town of Brignoles, in the Var region. The couple left with their twin children, according to Hello! magazine. The fire has since been brought under control, the Var prefecture announced on 30 July.

The Clooney estate, known as Domaine du Canadel, sits on a hilltop on the opposite side of the valley from Brignoles. It was not covered by the official evacuation order, but the family left as a precaution, Deadline reported. Roughly 650 people on the southern outskirts of Brignoles were ordered from their homes and have since been allowed to return.

George Clooney sent a text message to Brignoles mayor Didier Bremond. "Dear Didier, at this stage, we do not know if our beautiful home will survive this terrible ordeal," the message read, as reported by People magazine and French news channel BFMTV. The mayor's office confirmed receiving the message from the Clooneys, according to a fact-check article by regional newspaper Nice Matin. People also quoted Clooney expressing his affection for the area: "We love Brignoles and our friends who live there."

The response to the Brignoles fire was substantial. More than 250 firefighters, 85 fire vehicles, three Canadair water-bombing aircraft, and seven helicopters were deployed, Deadline reported. On 30 July, the Var prefecture declared the fire under control, with crews working to secure roughly ten kilometres of fire edge around the Brignoles neighbourhoods that had been threatened.

The Clooney evacuation was one thread in a broader wildfire crisis across the Var this July. A blaze that began on 21 July covered 4,000 hectares and forced 3,000 people from their homes, according to the Var prefecture's situation update. A separate fire, called the Gros Bessillon fire, had already scorched 250 hectares by 23 July and led to evacuations in several neighbourhoods, including Correns and Barjols. Nearly 5,000 people in total were evacuated because of that blaze, the prefecture reported.

The Clooneys purchased Domaine du Canadel, a sprawling wine-producing estate, several years ago and have been regular visitors to the Brignoles area. USA Today independently confirmed the family's evacuation on 29 July.

With the fire now under control, residents — the Clooneys included — face the relief of averted disaster and the task of assessing what the flames left behind.