Toxic smoke from Gironde and Landes wildfires blankets Bordeaux, 2.5 million FFP2 masks to be distributed

Smoke blankets the southwest

Since July 22, two major fires in Gironde and Landes have produced thick, toxic smoke that has drifted over Bordeaux and surrounding towns. The Saumos fire grew rapidly and its plume darkened the sky, with residents describing an invasion of smoke entering homes through windows. Air quality monitors near the fire registered fine particle concentrations around 500 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), far above the World Health Organization's safe threshold of 15 µg/m³.

It's a cocktail of pollutants made up of many gases and particles of various sizes, notably the famous ultrafine particles, those a thousandth of a hair, as well as fine particles measuring two and a half microns in diameter.

A cascade of health effects

Doctors and health agencies have warned that the smoke is not just an irritant but a serious health threat. The French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (Anses) noted that fine particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and even pass into the bloodstream, triggering asthma attacks, bronchitis, and decompensation of chronic conditions. Bruno Crestani, a pulmonologist and president of the Fédération du Souffle, told AFP that the effects are not only respiratory.

These particles can pass into the bloodstream and even activate processes such as decompensating diabetes, causing a stroke, a myocardial infarction.

Colas Tcherakian, a pneumologist at Hôpital Foch, added that the fine particles can travel very far geographically and deep into the bronchi, reaching the alveoli where oxygen normally resides, and even passing into the blood.

Mask demand and public response

In Biscarrosse, Anaïs Lacave, a local pharmacist, reported selling 80 FFP2 masks in July alone, compared to just four since the start of the year. "Depuis le début de l'année, on en avait vendu quatre. Et là, on voit que rien qu'au mois de juillet, on en a vendu déjà 80. C'est vraiment lié aux incendies actuellement," she said. In response, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional authorities announced plans to distribute 2.5 million FFP2 masks to residents, as the SAMU recorded a sharp increase in calls for respiratory distress.

Protecting the vulnerable

Dr Clairelyne Dupin, a pulmonologist at Paris Saint-Joseph Hospital, recommended that those unable to leave fire-affected zones should confine themselves at home as much as possible, keeping windows and ventilation systems closed. The most vulnerable populations are the elderly, infants, people with pre-existing lung conditions, and asthmatics. A 2022 study of Gironde wildfires found that while evacuations of 46,000 people kept emergency calls down during the fires, post-fire asthma cases spiked across all age groups, and children experienced a rise in otitis media from smoke irritation.