Teacher caught in wildfires on France bike ride
Rob Fox says the city of Bordeaux is "drenched in smoke and smog" as huge fires rage in the area.
A British educator, Rob Fox from Telford, recounted his urgent departure from Bordeaux, France, as wildfires intensified in the region. Fox, who is the headteacher of Donnington Wood Junior School, had initially envisioned a serene cycling tour through France's forests before the blazes erupted.
The fires, described as some of the country's most severe in two decades, have forced over 220,000 individuals to evacuate their residences. Fox characterized the scene as an "apocalyptic landscape," noting that Bordeaux was "drenched in smoke and smog" with an "acrid smell."
Amidst a significant heatwave, France is experiencing its worst fires in two decades. Fox's planned cycling route was shut down, leading him to consider a ferry, but he ultimately decided to travel through Bordeaux, believing it would be safe. He told BBC Radio Shropshire, "I was planning that, I had mapped out the route, it would all be fine." However, "Then they shut down the trains and the roads."
After checking into a hotel, Fox realized that southbound trains were no longer operating. "I had to go, I had to leave that minute," he stated. "I put all my wet clothes back on and I cycled 26 miles in about an hour and a half, to get the last train to Bordeaux... I got there with about five minutes to spare." He observed that the smoke was visible from approximately 100 miles away.
Fox then hired a taxi to take him out of Bordeaux, followed by a 125-mile bike ride to circumvent the fires, eventually reaching the coastal town of Biarritz. He remarked, "I planned a route that was so far around it that surely there wouldn't be a problem, but it just shows the scale of the problem, this was 20 miles away from the main fires and it was desolate."
Firefighters are working continuously to control the fires in the Gironde region, anticipating another heatwave. Wildfires are also active in Spain and Portugal. Fox, who is scheduled to fly back to London on Wednesday, shared that his motivation for the bike ride was to "celebrate the value of perseverance." He concluded, "I kept going, I kept doing well... Eventually got back to the coast a long way away and life carried on normally," adding, "I knew I had to get in and out of Bordeaux as quick as possible."