New Delhi, July 31 -- BRIGNOLES, France - George and Amal Clooney evacuated their home in the southern French commune of Brignoles with their 9-year-old twins Wednesday, as wildfires moving through Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur forced the displacement of roughly 3,000 local residents alongside the couple. In a letter to Brignoles Mayor Didier Bremond circulated by French media, the couple placed their community before their property and committed to return.

The fires that prompted their departure are part of a broader European catastrophe. One uncontained wildfire in France's southwestern Gironde region is burning across an area estimated at roughly four times the size of Paris, the largest active blaze in Europe and among the most destruct...