The road to the French town of Le Porge cuts through an almost apocalyptic landscape, lined on both sides by blackened, charred trees.
It acts as a stark warning of what lies ahead.
Le Porge is considered the epicentre of the devastating wildfires that tore through the region over the past week and, in places, continue to smoulder.
When the alarm was raised on Friday, the town was swiftly evacuated.
But when the residents returned, it was to scenes of ruin. 183 homes had been consumed by the fire - many are now roofless, hollow shells.
Their former occupants have been forced to find shelter in evacuation centres, hotels or with friends and family.
That uncertainty weighs heavily on their neighbour, Benjamin Fusco, who returned to find his own home unscathed.
"It is emotional. By chance our house hasn't been touched," he said.
"We can’t begin to feel what it is like to lose your home, but we can see how hard it is for our neighbours," he added.
He also questioned whether enough fire crews had been deployed to fight the flames.
"When we returned we were shocked to see how few firemen there were. We were expecting way more," he said.
It is a concern echoed by other residents in the town.
Earlier this week, AFP reported that some used a public meeting to accuse authorities of focusing their efforts on Cap Ferret - a peninsula known for its luxury homes - rather than on communities like Le Porge.
However, officials have defended their response, pointing to the relentless efforts of firefighting crews.
They said the erratic winds in the early stages of the blaze made it almost impossible to predict that the fire would turn back towards Le Porge.
For now, the town and its surrounding areas remain at high risk of flare-ups.
A huge community operation has been underway to dampen the land. Some local volunteers, like Herve Fougeroux, are scouring the landscape for smoke, water buckets and sprayers in hand, ready to extinguish every little patch.
"We take the water from the lake then we fight root fires," he said. "One by one - we do what we can."
However, he acknowledges the scale of the task.
"It could take months. It's exhausting," he added.
Read more:
'Alert! Get out' - an Irish family's experience of fleeing the French wildfires
Bordeaux a city on edge amid renewed wildfire warnings
