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

"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. 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.