On holiday near wildfires - WTF to do?

[thetinsoldier]

We’re in Bordeaux, 40k from the fires. It’s really smoky, the sun is covered by smoke and it’s really quite scary. Have spoken to neighbours and they say the smoke is just being blown this way, we’re not in danger, but it’s horrible and scary.

What would you do??

To some extent agree but of course some online randoms are in/near the area, and or have contacts on the ground there.

The one thing I certainly would not be doing is relying on UK MSM to be giving up to date accurate info.

@thetinsoldier seeing the News around Bordeaux and the fact they are now evacuating some of the villages around it, I’d leave.

Latest news from tge government officials is that the type of fires is pretty unusual and very hard to contain, in part because it keeps changing direction.

Youre, unfortunately, at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Plus, I wouldnt be happy to breathe the smoke either tbh.
I know in the US, they’ve advised people to wear FPP2 masks because of thatb(New York, California). Haven’t seen anything like that in france but it looks to me like a pretty good idea. Smoke inhalation can be dangerous too.

EVACUATION POINTS | 7:30 AM:
Good morning to everyone, the situation is deteriorating again on the front lines of the fires ravaging Gironde. As expected, the list of municipalities affected by the evacuation procedure has grown overnight.
Residents and tourists in the following municipalities are now asked to leave, if they have not already done so:

• Bruges (neighborhoods located outside the Bordeaux ring road);
• Eysines (neighborhoods located outside the Bordeaux ring road);
• Le Haillan;
• Mérignac (neighborhoods of Beutre - including Courtillas - and Beaudésert);

These municipalities are added to those that have already been evacuated since yesterday and the day before yesterday in the Gironde department, and to which you should not go:

• Arès;
• Andernos-les-Bains;
• Audenge;
• Lanton;
• Lège - Cap-Ferret (including the villages of Claouey, Le Four, les Jacquets, Petit Piquey and Grand Piquey);
• Le Porge;
• Le Temple;
• Martignas-sur-Jalle;
• Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc;
• Saint-Jean-d'Illac;
• Saint-Médard-en-Jalles;
• Sainte-Hélène;
• Salaunes;
• Saumos.

Other municipalities or neighborhoods in Bordeaux could be affected during the day. The fire is still out of control at the beginning of this Saturday morning, July 25, 2026

We're in a similar situation op. Spending £5k for a short stay in Paris then train to Provence for a week in mid August. Worried now about the prospect of wildfires. I hope you are ok and get out safely x x

That's helpful @Shedmistress

@thetinsoldier you ensure you are ready to leave immediately, if the alert comes. Once the alert is given, some elements of your insurance may kick in. Be mindful that those evacuating now, must evacuate and don't need roads, ports, airports, clogged wwith those for whom it's a precaution.

@notimagainfirstly it’s not some competition you don’t own the news - secondly I didn’t see your post cos I’ve not RTFT I’ve only read OP’s posts. So chilllllll!

We're 2 + hours away in the Haute Vienne and we've woken up to haze and smoke smells this morning 🫤 It is so awful for those currently affected.

Just to say the evacuation areas are now just outside of the ring road, here's a map.

How are you in the similar position? Are you going to be specifically near wildfire in Provence?
a general vicinity is not the same position.

i flew into Bordeaux on Wednesday (actually saw that wildfire from the air) and we are about 2 hours drive north - we can actually feel faint smell of smoke today but we are very far and it’s totally not the same position as the OP

We stayed by the lake at Parentis last year -about 8 miles from where the Biscarrosse fire is now. I would not wait to be evacuated because you won’t be able to pack and roads will be chaotic.

How are things now OP? Are you still considering leaving?

Sorry if I've missed this, but which side of Bordeaux are you (east / west of the centre)? I can see you're 40km away from the fires... are you West of the city? We are due to stay in the centre at the end of next week, and I'm really concerned - though hoping they might have calmed down or stopped by then, however even if there's still a thick smell of smoke I may consider cancelling. It's so worrying.

It sounds like there is no immediate danger where you are so I’d probably stay put for the next day or so.

i think emergency alerts will go on all mobile phones in a certain area whether they are French or not. I’d ask some locals what they are doing. Obviously if people are packing up then it’s time to do the same.

Well I hope you're right. I mean I'm in potentially a similar position in that I could lose the cost of my holiday (or worse) if we choose to go - if the wildfires end up starting there which is perfectly possible. Cotignac has experienced wildfires in the last week and we're not too far from there

@thetinsoldier I hope you managed to get some rest overnight

If you haven't evacuated yet I would. Better to leave 'just in case' than too late.

Good luck

@thetinsoldier I would leave. If things change and the fires come closer you will be a danger to yourself and a danger to the emergency services and firefighters. The fewer people in the area the better.

Wildfires can start literally anywhere in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc

there is always a possibility wherever you go that something might happen (if not wildfire then flood, earthquake in some areas etc etc)

Couldn't agree more.
Loss is loss it's wrong to judge people's personal circumstances like this. .some people have lost lots and want a holiday to recover we don't know.

I was just hoping to provide a bit of local,'ish info, no offense intended.........

Yes, we received fire alerts last year in Athens.

One thing I was thinking is that if you do leave, I would let someone know, the property owners or the people living next door. Just so that should an emergency occur people are not wasting time thinking there may be people still in the property.

I'd keep a ready to grab and go mentality, so you can pick up you essential stuff from your apartment easily and you're not the other side of the city etc if an announcement is made

I've been caught up in an overseas emergency before, I now travel with the mindset of preserve health, learn your passport number, and for everything else there is mastercard and you can always repay it at some point.

But this is France, not a developing nation. I expect they will organise evacuation as well if not better than the UK tbh

Bless those firefighters

I live in the North Dordogne - 2 hours NE from Bordeaux - yesterday I would have said come east but our town is now smelly, murkey and not very pleasant - the downside is that it has just started raining and the rain is coming from the west, so that may slow things down a bit.

Keep an eye on meteo France for the weather at least.

If I were you, I'd pick up your family member and head north, if you want to stay in France of course.

We have had so little rain in May, June and July (and so so hot temps) that this place is like a tinder box - we have bans on barbeques, outdoor tools running on fuel, loads of cancellations of events - I am really really fed up of the summer.

But I do appreciate that for holidaymakers it must be so frightening not knowing anything, and everything not being in your language. If you download the ici perigord app and get it translated you could get some up to date news.

Good luck

These fires are terrifying. We just marked 8 years since the tragic fires in Mani, Greece, that killed 103 people.

Copy pasted the devastating speed of which this fire took hold.

Key Timeline and Spread Rates

• Ignition: The fire broke out in the forest area of Daou Penteli at 4:41 PM.
• Gale-Force Winds: It was fanned by extreme winds reaching up to 124 km/h (77 mph) or 12 Beaufort, combined with high temperatures around 39°C (102°F).
• Crossing the Highway: Driven by the intense downslope winds, the crown fire crossed the major Marathon Avenue within 30 to 40 minutes of approaching the built-up interface.
• Reaching the Coast: The fire hit Mati shortly after 6:00 PM, sweeping through the densely populated residential and pine-forested area and engulfing the town in less than an hour.
• Rate of Forward Spread: For short stretches as it rushed downslope toward the coast, the forward rate of spread reached 4 to 5 km/h (2.5 to 3.1 mph), giving residents virtually no time to evacuate.

The memory of this particular fire remains a deep wound in Greek society, a failure of the state to act and immobilize quickly enough is also part of this.

I imagine France to be far better organised. However, I would be ready to leave - and would leave, if it gets any closer.

Stay safe OP.

Macron calling in the army when his govt refused to budget for the planes to dump water and stripped 1000 jobs from the national forestry service that maintains fire breaks etc

A firefighter died in the Jura ten days ago too.