Approaching the point of no return

A file photo of a firefighter walking in front of burning trees as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, on July 26. — AP

A DENSE, yellow-orange pall hung over Bordeaux, blotting out the sun and blurring the spires of the cathedral in the city. A swirl of tiny ash particles stung eyes and stuck in throats.

West of town, a mammoth forest fire burned so ferociously that it generated its own weather system.