French authorities gave the go-ahead on Thursday for 84,000 evacuees forced out by a huge wildfire to go back to their homes in south-west France. A plane releases fire retardant as it flies over a forest near Blagon (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)Higher humidity, cooler temperatures and slight rain have raised hopes that Thursday could be a decisive step on the way to vanquishing the fire. Firefighters work to extinguish a fire in the forest near Blagon (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)Local officials reported a “rather calm” night, with a fire that has not grown beyond the 42,000 hectares already affected. Firefighters work to extinguish a fire (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)Emergency crews have set fires deliberately to fight the blaze to burn away scrub that could fuel the wildfire. At the peak of the evacuations, a third of a million people were driven from homes and vacation sites in France and Spain.