In the southwestern French region of Gironde, ten months after the huge wildfires of last summer, the earth is still burning on the charred banks of a lake, an indication of an invisible fire that is inexorably consuming the seams of an old brown coal mine. "The big risk is that the earth gives way under your feet, and you can fall into the 600-degree fire, which causes serious burns," explains the mayor of the village of Hostens nearby. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES