'It was hell': French communities are on the front lines of Europe's new wildfires
Residents of Le Porge, where 183 homes burned, say they were left to their own devices
The flames came quick and strong.
asserted
flames → burn → devices
Pushed by westerly winds, they'd already devastated Saumos, France, 14 kilometres away, and in the early morning hours of last Friday, were heading, like a match to gunpowder, through an exceptionally dry forest of pines, in an exceptionally hot summer, toward Le Porge.
asserted
they → push → Porge
When Stéphanie Dhont looked outside her window, sparks were raining down.
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sparks → look → window
"Everything was orange and since it was all so dry, even the smallest bush would instantly burst into flames," said Dhont, whose husband had left only hours before, around 1 a.m. local time, to rescue the couple's 15-year-old daughter from an evacuation order at her summer camp in Biscarosse, south down the coast, where another wildfire had broken out.
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wildfire → burst → coast
Only Dhont and her 18-year-old son, Timothée Collin, a lifeguard and surfer, were left to defend the family's home near the centre of the town in southwestern France against the encroaching wildfire.
asserted
Dhont → leave → wildfire
Dhont's family is one of many in Le Porge who says they felt abandoned in dealing with a new climate disaster reality.
asserted
they → say → reality
France, Spain and Greece battle wildfires that have forced hundreds of thousands to flee
Exhausted crews battle wildfire as heat grips southwest France
"So we did what we could to save our house," the 45-year-old mother said of the wood home they built 13 years ago.
uncertain
they → battle → home
The mother and son pulled out the garden hose and started spraying the outside walls, the hedges, the roof, "everything."
asserted
mother → pull → walls
Within an hour, Dhont says, the village was surrounded by flames.
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village → say → flames
Instead, neighbours drove by honking, yelling at everyone to leave, she said.
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she → drive → everyone
"It was total panic, it was hell."
One hundred and eighty three homes burned in Le Porge in the hours that followed.
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that → burn → hours
"A field of ruins," the town’s mayor, Martial Zaninetti, called it.
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mayor → call → it
The wildfires that have burned in the area near the city of Bordeaux may be smaller than those Canada and the U.S. are used to — totalling over 100,000 hectares — but French authorities and wildfire experts say they are unprecedented in Europe in terms of size, scale and impact.
uncertain
they → burn → size
The small communities that pepper the pine forests around Bordeaux have been left reeling.
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that → pepper → Bordeaux
Many residents stayed behind to help fight the fires, which only began to let up Thursday morning as a light rain fell.
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rain → stay → fires
'We've had to fend for ourselves'
asserted
We → have → ourselves
On Wednesday, they'd scrambled, along with firefighters from across the country, in punishing 40-degree heat to tamp out spontaneous re-burns — when heat and dryness cause the smouldering ground to ignite.
asserted
ground → scramble → burns
But with the emergency out of the way Thursday, and 84,000 out of over 220,000 people allowed to regain in their homes in nine communities — but not Le Porge — resident volunteers there were starting to absorb the extent of their town's destruction and the sense that they’d been left to their own devices.
"We've had to fend for ourselves," said Didier Deyres, 65, a farmer and the vice-president of the local forest fire defence department.
asserted
Deyres → allow → department
Standing outside Le Porge's party hall, which had been converted into a bustling volunteer and firefighter hub, Deyres decried a lack of resources from the French government he said his town has received since its residents had to flee nearly a week ago.
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residents → stand → government
"We're starting to lose heart," said Deyres.
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Deyres → start → heart
"We need help.
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We → need → help
We are going to start seeing traumatic shocks, but there's also going to be [health] problems because of the smoke."
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We → go → smoke
A sign at the hall warned of high rates of carbon monoxide in the air and said masks were "mandatory."
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masks → warn → air
Few people wore them.
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people → wear → them
Deyres says he believes that if the French government had been better prepared and had more ressources, including more water bombers, his community would have shouldered far less destruction.
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community → say → destruction
France owns 12 Canadair water bombers, but it can only use five at the moment due to maintenance issues — a fact most people affected by fires in France will mention.
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people → own → France
Young volunteer health and body workers sit on cots they’d arranged in a corner to treat members of their community.
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they → sit → community
Emma Jambert, a 25-year-old osteopath from Le Porge, said the solidarity of the town has been motivating, but she, too, wondered aloud when more help would come.
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help → say → town
"There’s a lot of fatigue," Jambert said.
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Jambert → ’ → fatigue
"The aftermath is going to be complicated.
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aftermath → go → ?
"
'Solidarity,' but quetions remain
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quetions → remain → ?
A group of residents are planning a class action against French authorities who ordered firefighters to leave Le Porge as the fire raged Friday and direct their efforts to Lège-Cap-Ferret, where a wealthy community sits on a nearby peninsula.
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community → plan → peninsula
The government has justified its actions, saying there is only one route out of Cap-Ferret, making a rapid evacuation nearly impossible.
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evacuation → justify → Ferret
Dhont and Deyres said the town had been "abandoned" and "sacrificed."
asserted
town → say → ?
Zaninetti, the mayor, says he "understands their pain."
asserted
he → say → pain
He prefers to focus on the future, noting he has started gathering local associations and collaborating with nearby communities on a reconstruction plan in an effort he says resembles the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
asserted
he → prefer → pandemic
"What keeps us going is this solidarity … without it, I think we would have collapsed."
asserted
we → keep → it
Dhont served meals to a lineup of other volunteers and firefighters at the hall.
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Dhont → serve → hall
She, her husband, daughter and son have been working late into the night every day over the past week.
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She → work → week
I’ve been asking myself: why them and not me?"
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I → ask → myself
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
