France fire uncovers WWII era ammo caches

A massive wildfire that scorched about 420 square kilometres in southwestern France has uncovered large World War II-era ammunition caches that had remained buried beneath dense pine forests for about 80 years.

The Gironde prefecture says demining experts have found more than 400 shells and other munitions in recent days at Le Porge, the municipality hardest hit by the blaze, where 183 homes were destroyed.

Le Porge Mayor Martial Zaninetti says the municipality had not known the ammunition was buried beneath the forest. Southwestern France still contains numerous remnants of World War II because the region was strategically important during the German occupation and the Allied liberation.