‘It’s like a vortex’: Bordeaux’s Irish community on wildfires raging in France
Severe wildfires in the Gironde region of France have forced mass evacuations, impacting local residents and the Irish expatriate community. The fires have created dangerous air quality conditions, leading authorities to distribute masks and advise residents to stay indoors.
Why it matters
The incident highlights the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-driven natural disasters in Europe and their direct impact on civilian safety.
Irish people in France have been fleeing the advance of wildfires as the largest blaze in the country’s modern history forced the evacuation of over 250,000 people .
A fire in the Gironde region outside the city of Bordeaux flared up again on Tuesday after it was stabilised by an immense firefighting operation involving 2,750 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers and cadres of volunteer farmers and construction workers working to dampen vegetation and create new firebreaks.
Alistair Burke, a long-time resident of the Cap Ferret peninsula originally from Derry , was woken up at 3am on Friday by an emergency alarm on his phone telling him to immediately evacuate.
“If there’s damage to the house, there’s damage to the house. What can I say? We’re literally 30 yards away from the forest where we live,” Burke said.
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