Some 1,200 people were taken to safety last night by the French authorities in connection with a fierce forest fire west of the southern French port city of Marseille. People were evacuated at three campsites.
Among them the Dutch Berlinda Indischeën (46), her husband, her 11-year-old son and her 8-year-old daughter. Earlier that evening they made one last evening walk. The next day the family would drive from Nieuwleusen to the Netherlands.
Whirl in the air
But that was canceled. During dinner suddenly firefighters flew over the family, there turned out to be a big fire. Her son liked those planes. And Berlinda wasn’t worried yet. “Those planes fetched water, one plane had red liquid. I thought it would be under control.”
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The evacuation
Nothing proved further from the truth. The fire brigade soon arrived at the campsite. “We had to make sure we got out. We had already packed all of our things for departure the next day, but were not allowed to leave by car.”
They were just getting their phones, says Berlinda. “Our son was not even wearing a shirt. When we drove away, I saw everything glowing and I had a swallowing moment. I thought: this could just end badly.”
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Berlinda was taken to a beach with other camping guests. There they literally saw and heard how bad things were going. “Clouds of smoke passed over the campsite and further on we heard gas cylinders exploding.”
Moreover, the smoke was getting closer, says Berlinda. “When it got dark, we saw the glow of the fire bouncing off buildings behind us. That was intense. We sat down by the surf, because the flames looked worse and worse. At worst, we could get into the water . “
Mouth masks
Fortunately it did not come to that. The evacuated camping guests were taken to a sports hall in vans where they could spend the night. There they received a mask and some food and drink. Camp beds came later.
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Although Berlinda’s daughter panicked about her hugs that were still in the car, the kids just slept last night. But she and her husband didn’t close an eye. “You are insecure all night: what will happen to our camping and stuff, how do we get home?”
Berlinda received an answer to that question today. She was brought back to the campsite tonight. All the stuff was still completely intact. “An absolute relief.” And that is not so obvious. “The campsite around the corner from a harbor seems to be completely gone.”
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Berlinda drives to the Netherlands today. Back from a vacation they wouldn’t have at all. “Because of corona we wouldn’t go on vacation. But in the end we thought: if you keep enough distance, what else can you do?”
The fire is a damper, but the holiday was wonderful, says Berlinda. “You can have wildfires everywhere. Shit happens. But now you can go home with screeching tires.”
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