A former Winnipegger is sharing his experiences seeing large wildfires burning in his new home in France. Out-of-control wildfires have forced more than 200,000 people out of their homes in France. The huge flames are creeping closer to the city of Bordeaux. It’s home to a lot of people, including former Winnipegger Matthew Willis. “There’s definitely this sort of disquieting, enemy at the gates, sort of feeling,” said Willis. “People are still here, living their lives, but just outside the city, there’s, you know, they’re saying it’s one of the biggest fires France has seen since the Second World War.” Willis, a writer, moved to the city with his girlfriend five years ago. He says a quarter of a million people have been evacuated there from surrounding towns and villages. “I’m not really sure what will happen if those people will then need to be evacuated elsewhere,” he said. “So, yeah, where we’re supposed to go we’re not quite sure right now.” But Willis says they’re nowhere close to that nightmare scenario yet. Firefighters are battling the flames around the clock, including with some indirect help from Canada. “It was really encouraging to hear that they’re using the Canadair planes to fight the fire,” said Willis. “A little bit of national pride for that.”
