The blaze erupted Tuesday and tore through the Aude region, spreading rapidly due to hot, dry weather. Cooler overnight temperatures and calmer winds slowed its advance and allowed firefighters to make headway.

France's largest wildfire for 75 years, which has burned through an area larger than Paris, has slowed overnight but is not yet under control, officials have said. More than 2,000 firefighters and 500 firefighting vehicles continue to be deployed to the Aude region, alongside gendarmerie and army personnel, officials said on Thursday.

Prime Minister François Bayrou described the nearly 40,000-acre fire, which has killed one person, as a “catastrophe on an unprecedented scale.”