'We were too relaxed, but then ash started falling on us'

"We were too relaxed, but then ash started falling on us," recounted Katie Bott, a Hereford resident who witnessed wildfires from her holiday lodging.

"We were probably too relaxed… it was when I watched the third fire break out almost directly opposite us and we saw the flames, I thought, 'This is getting a bit close for comfort.'"

Katie Bott, from Hereford, was in Cotignac in the south of France for a wedding last Saturday when the country's raging wildfires compelled her and her family to evacuate their holiday accommodation. She informed the BBC that as the third fire erupted, dense smoke filled the air, and ash began to fall on them.

While observing helicopters dousing a blaze on the opposite hill, Bott said the family was abruptly instructed to evacuate via a loudspeaker from the aircraft. "We were told, 'Get out'," she stated. "There was ash falling on us outside the house, it was very smoky."

With little time to gather bags or belongings, the family departed. "We got in the car and headed south, we went to the next village as that's where we were told to reconvene," she explained.

Her ordeal is one of thousands that have impacted people across Europe since mid-July, with wildfires also devastating Spain, Italy, and Portugal. France has experienced its most severe fires in two decades, amidst the relentless heat of a major continent-wide heatwave.

The family had traveled to Cotignac for a wedding, which was postponed for a day when fire threatened to spread to the chateau where it was scheduled to be held. Deeming it too unsafe to return that night, they booked accommodation approximately 20 miles south. "To get as far away from the fires as possible until we were told it was safe enough to come back," Bott said. "It got a little bit scary."

They were able to return the following day, fortunately finding the house unaffected. However, the wedding had to be pushed back to Sunday, when a hasty ceremony was necessary because a fire was also advancing towards the chateau where it was taking place.

"We all went up to the chateau on Sunday, but there were an awful lot of police there turning people away," Bott said. "Some of us managed to get there, they did a very very quick ceremony. The chief of fire was there, basically saying: 'Come on, hurry up, get out.'"

The family was later able to return for the evening celebrations. "The fire wasn't that close, it was just the way the wind changed and it was getting a bit smoky," she added. "They're just very cautious here, which I understand. [The firefighters] were amazing, they were very organised, very calm… and thankfully they spoke English."

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