A French regional official said on Friday that firefighters have not been able to control a massive fire that has broken out in the French countryside - until now.

The Var's governor, Evins Richard, warned that higher temperatures and changing winds this weekend could bring more bad news.

"We cannot rule out a resurgence of fire," Richard said.

The fire has killed two people since it broke out on Monday, including a man in his fifties who died at his home in Grimaud, about 12 kilometers from Saint-Tropez, and a 32-year-old woman while on vacation in the same village.

Now on its fifth day, the fire has engulfed 8,100 hectares of forest and other vegetation, including vineyards.

The Var regional government said more than 1,000 firefighters, along with 250 trucks, worked through the night to secure the edges of the blaze so the flames would not spread, before daylight allowed the resumption of flights.

The blaze, which forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people from summer camps and residents, is the latest of several large forest fires that have swept the Mediterranean this summer.