'There's ash everywhere,' says Irish woman in Bordeaux

Wildfires burning approximately 15 kilometers from Bordeaux have created a thick haze of smoke and ash, prompting concern among residents and visitors. Tammy Ní Laoire, a French language teacher from Conamara, Ireland, was due to return home the following Saturday but spent her morning trying to secure an earlier flight. She described the situation as "really, really bad," with ash coating everything and making breathing difficult, leading to queues for masks.

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I mean there is ash everywhere, it is difficult to breath, there are queues for masks

Despite the pervasive smoke, which Conor Irwin, an Irish expatriate living on the outskirts of Bordeaux, described as a "heavy fog" that irritates the throat and eyes, not everyone is panicking. Irwin, who lives on the left bank of the Garonne River while the fires originated closer to the coast on the right bank, noted that the winds had shifted eastward, seemingly improving conditions slightly. He observed firefighting trucks carrying large water tanks heading towards the coast.

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life goes on, c'est la vie

While Ní Laoire spoke to locals who were "a little bit nervous," she also encountered a waiter who shrugged off the situation with a "c'est la vie" attitude. Irwin mentioned that friends in the city center, though not under evacuation orders, had packed their cars and were prepared to leave if the fires drew closer. He characterized the general mood as careful rather than panicked, with most people staying put but ready to move.

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the smoke and the burning wood

Irwin, who works in the city, plans to work from home for the next week, keeping his windows shut to protect against the smoke. The fires have already destroyed hundreds of homes in surrounding areas, but Bordeaux itself, with a population of 850,000, was not under immediate evacuation orders, though it was sheltering thousands evacuated from nearby zones. Flights out of Bordeaux were becoming scarce and more expensive as people attempted to leave.

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It kind of gets to the back of your throat and in your eyes