A major wildfire occurred from 19 August 1949 to 25 August 1949 in the Landes forest in France. 50,000 hectares (500 km2) of forest land were burnt - and 82 people killed. It is considered the most deadly forest fire in Europe in modern times. The municipalities of Cestas, Saucats, Marcheprime and Mios in the Gironde department were devastated by the forest fire.
References
Landes Forest 1949 Wildfire Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA