France and Spain wildfire witnesses describe 'wall of flames', fear and stress
Large wildfires in southwestern France and central Spain have forced thousands to evacuate, including tourists, causing immense stress and fear.
France
Rachel Hanberry, whose home is in Biscarrosse Plage near Bordeaux, told BBC Radio 5 Live that her house is next to the town's evacuation point. "Everyone came here on Thursday night. People had nowhere to go. We offered our home," she said. The community has "lost so much". "The stress and trauma that you feel as someone living here is immense."
About 700 km away in Cotignac, southeastern France, Jo Barnes and her family returned home on Saturday after evacuating for four days as a fire rapidly approached their property. "A wall of orange flames came roaring up over the hill," Barnes said. "On Friday afternoon, the fire came back to our area... within 10 metres of the back of our house, we have a gas tank here, it was all very dramatic." Though the surrounding hillside was blackened, Cotignac was undamaged and the Barnes' home intact.
Spain
In the central Madrid region of Spain, where more than 27,000 hectares have burned, residents faced similar ordeals. "Everyone had to get out of the village quickly, it was a critical situation and people were scared," Olga Congacha told AFP. She and her husband took only "important documents, some clothes".
In eastern Castellón province, Ricardo Pozo told AFP he had "never seen a fire this intense before". "I've seen major fires, but on television. Nothing like this, here and now."
Maria Garcia, who lives in Betxí, also in Castellón province, described to Reuters how the fires had put life on pause: "You can't go out to work, you can't go about your daily life." "You can see the mountains you've known your whole life burning," she added.
Impact on holidaymakers
The wildfires also disrupted tourists' plans. James Hillier was visiting his son in the seaside community of Lacanau about 42 km east of Bordeaux. "The whole town got consumed by smoke," he told the BBC. "There was ash falling from the sky; I noticed a big lump of it landed on my hand." He and his wife left for Bordeaux on Saturday, but found "the air was acrid - it stung your eyes and people were wearing masks". They moved to northern France.
Sarah from Hertfordshire realized her family would have to cut their week-long holiday in Bordeaux short due to smoke. "We sealed all the apartment up, but it still had a really strong smell of smoke everywhere. It was quite worrying," she said. She warned her sister-in-law Georgia not to come to Lacanau. Georgia booked another region but could not get a refund because the fire had not yet reached Lacanau. "If we don't find a solution with them we currently stand to lose over £3,500," Georgia added.
