The fire broke out around 12:45pm in the Lozère area, about 140 kilometres northwest of Montpellier. By Monday morning it had been declared under control, although large areas of land are still burning.
Officials said it might have been sparked by a vehicle catching fire on a local road.
The fire burned 153 hectares before being brought under control.
Around 220 firefighters from Lozere and neighbouring departments were deployed, backed by four Canadair water bombers and a Dash aircraft, with more reinforcements on the way.
Two hamlets in the municipality of La Tieule, directly in the path of the flames, were evacuated at around 5pm on Sunday, affecting about 20 homes.
"This is an area with a great deal of woodland. It's extremely dry. The drought is unlike anything we've seen in a long time," said Marc Toulouse, a senior fire officer in Lozère.
Local authorities urged residents not to call emergency services to report the blaze, warning that doing so could overload crews already fighting the fire.
A road between La Tieule and Le Recoux was also closed.
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