Thick fire smoke over Bordeaux

A pungent odor, thick fire smoke and a reduced fire brigade. The fires near French Bordeaux are raging with undiminished force.

More than 37,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.

– I never thought it would go this far, says Mathieu Valbuena, whose campsite has burned down.

The heavy smoke that covered the port city of Bordeaux during the night and Tuesday morning comes from the forest fires that have been raging in the region for a week. On social media, Bordeaux residents testify about how they woke up in the middle of the night with a strong smell of smoke. Many had the windows open due to the heat.

– It is one o’clock at night and in Bordeaux there is a pungent fire scent, says a woman to the French media company BFMTV.

The rescue service has received thousands of calls from worried residents. The local authorities in the department of Gironde, where Bordeaux is the capital, write in a statement to the public:

“Do not call the fire brigade, the lines are congested. If you are afraid of inhaling dangerous smoke, put a mouth guard that you use against covid-19. ”

Extremely complicated

About 20,000 hectares of forest have burned since last week and the fires continue to advance. More than 3,500 firefighters are working to gain control of the fires. Six water bombers are involved in the extinguishing work. On Monday, another fire broke out in the region, which means that the firefighters are now fighting three fires.

In La Teste-de-Buch, west of Bordeaux, where one of the fires is raging, Mayor Patrick Davet says the night has been “extremely complicated”:

– It is a war against an enemy who does not sleep, who moves and who does not give any respite, he says to BFMTV.

On Monday, long queues of cars were seen from the popular holiday resorts in Arcachon, outside Bordeaux, after the authorities forced another 16,000 people to evacuate.

– We were really bothered by all the smoke and a neighbor told us about the evacuation order, says Paris resident Yves to the newspaper Sudouest.

More than 37,000 people have now been forced to leave their homes in the region.

Campsites have burned down

In Arcachon, a zoo has been forced to evacuate all animals and several campsites have burned down. Mathieu Valbuena, owner of Pyla-Camping, has tears in his eyes when he talks to the newspaper Le Parisien.

– I have a hard time accepting that there is nothing left today. I never thought it would go this far, he tells the newspaper.

A fire also broke out in Brittany in northern France on Monday. About 250 firefighters are struggling with the extinguishing work and 500 people have been forced to leave their homes. Brittany had a heat record on Monday with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees in some places.