A holiday turned into an emergency departure for a British family in southwestern France after wildfire flames moved closer to the campsite where they were staying. Their account shows how quickly a scene that seemed calm can turn into a warning sign of danger.
The alarm sounded in the evening
Venetia and Tom Bentley were on holiday with their three children, aged 18, 16 and 13, at the Sandaya campsite in Sanguinet, near Biscarrosse. At around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, the family was evacuated after the emergency alarm was activated.
The large wildfires affecting the region moved closer to the area where the family were spending their holiday, forcing them to leave urgently.
The pink sky was not a sunset
According to Venetia Bentley, the family had returned from a walk after at first thinking they were seeing a beautiful sunset. Later, they realised that the pink colour and hazy appearance of the sky were caused by the flames and smoke.
She said that as soon as the alarm went off, they gathered the necessary belongings, put them in the car and left the campsite immediately.
The journey through lines of cars
During the evacuation, the parents tried to keep the children calm while vehicles waited in long lines to leave the danger zone.
To avoid panic, they turned the journey into an ordinary conversation, even talking about the songs they would listen to in the car.
Moving to a safer area
The family travelled towards Bordeaux, where they found accommodation about 50 kilometres farther along the coast.
The next day, they moved to another campsite where, according to their account, the air was cleaner and the situation seemed safer.
One case among many evacuations
The evacuation of the Bentley family is presented as one of many cases reported during the major wildfires in southwestern France.
According to reports, the flames have forced thousands of residents and tourists to leave the affected areas, while the danger has also reached holiday areas and campsites.
The incident highlights how fragile the tourist season becomes in the face of major wildfires, especially when the flames move close to populated areas and holiday facilities.
In just a few hours, a holiday evening turned into a rushed evacuation, amid smoke, lines of cars and uncertainty over what was approaching.