Wildfire witnesses describe 'wall of flames', fear and stress

Image source, Sophie Garcia/ EPA/ShutterstockByFreya Scott-TurnerPublished27 July 2026, 18:17 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoPeople in the French city of Bordeaux are feeling "anxious and fearful" as a wildfire burns just 15km (9.3 miles) from its outskirts, a resident has told the BBC.Pierre Pourquery said that people are wearing masks and some are struggling to breathe because of a "thick smoke haze" that has been blown across the city.Another man, who plans to leave the city on Tuesday after seeing it "engulfed in smoke" said "it was like the scene of a horrible film".Residents and holidaymakers told the BBC of their experiences as emergency responders in France and Spain work to contain wildfires that have scorched tens of thousands of hectares and seen more than 300,000 people evacuated across both countries. Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesImage caption, Pierre Pourquery described a "thick smoke haze" hanging over the city of BordeauxChris De Abreu, who is from Kent but works in France and has a flat in Bordeaux, described how "over the weekend the city was engulfed in smoke with the sun disappearing behind", with an "orange-like filter" over the city.Though De Abreu said he is less concerned about his flat which lies on the other side of the river, he "can see a number of people worried about what is to come".Elsewhere, Rachel Hanberry told BBC Radio 5 Live that her beachfront home in Biscarrosse Plage, which lies about 63km (40 miles) from Bordeaux, is located next to the town's evacuation point. "Everyone came here on Thursday night," she said. "People had nowhere to go. We offered our home to people."The community there has "lost so much", she added. "The stress and trauma that you feel as someone living here is immense." About 700km away, in Cotignac in the south-east of France, Jo Barnes and her family returned to their home on Saturday, having evacuated for four days after a fire rapidly moved towards 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 and charred, the town of Cotignac was undamaged and the Barnes' family home left intact. Figure caption, Jo Barnes describes how she and her family evacuated their home which has survived the fires.In the central Madrid region of Spain, where more than 27,000 hectares (66,000 acres) have burnt, residents have 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 news agency.She and her husband did not take much: "[We] left with all that we could grab, our important documents, some clothes".In the eastern Castellón province, Ricardo Pozo told AFP that 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 the Castellón province - described to Reuters how the fires had put life on pause for those who evacuated: "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.Image source, Mohamad Salaheldin Abdelghani Alsayed/Anadolu via Getty ImagesThe wildfires have also upended plans for holidaymakers. James Hillier had been visiting his son in the seaside community of Lacanau about 42 km (26 miles) east of Bordeaux in the Gironde department."The whole town got consumed by smoke," he told the BBC. "There was ash falling from the sky and I noticed a big lump of it landed on my hand."He and his wife left the town for Bordeaux on Saturday, but found that in the city "the air was acrid - it stung your eyes and people were wearing masks". They have since left to go to somewhere in the north of the France instead. Sarah from Hertfordshire realised that her family would have to cut their week-long holiday in Bordeaux short because of the 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 then warned her sister-in-law Georgia, whose family had been due to join them in the Bordeaux region in Lacanau, not to come. Georgia booked to stay in another region instead.Georgia said she has not been able to secure a refund from her accommodation operator because the fire had not yet reached Lacanau at the time of cancellation. "If we don't find a solution with them we currently stand to lose over £3,500," Georgia added.Image caption, Sarah and Georgia's families made it to the Loire Valley over the weekend and have visited Chateau VillandryRelated topicsWildfiresSpainFranceMore on this storyDevastating European wildfires in maps - and how they're being tackledPublished5 hours agoHow 'fire-generated thunderstorms' make wildfires more deadlyPublished10 hours ago'Massive wall of orange flames came over the hill' says BritPublished8 hours ago