France and Spain wildfire witnesses describe 'wall of flames', fear and stress

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock By Freya Scott-Turner Published 7 minutes ago People 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 woman described the "stress and trauma" being felt in the nearby seaside resort of Biscarrosse Plage after a wildfire ripped through it. 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 Images Image caption, Pierre Pourquery described a "thick smoke haze" hanging over the city of Bordeaux 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. Image source, EPA/Shutterstock Image caption, Fires have swept across both the central Madrid region and the Castellón province in eastern Spain In the central Madrid region of Spain, where more than 27,000 hectares 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 caption, Sarah and Georgia's families made it to the Loire Valley over the weekend and have visi