Family of four evacuated from the French flames: 'We packed the car as fast as ever before'

A family of four evacuated from the French flames: 'We packed the car faster than ever before'

The wildfires in France are currently ravaging large areas, where several thousand families have had their summer holidays interrupted and instead been evacuated.

Mads Vinther Bramm and the rest of his family were evacuated as flames ravage southern France. Video: Mads Vinther Bramm 56 minutes ago.

Wildfires are currently raging in several places in France, where thousands of families are having their summer holidays cut short to get to safety from the flames.

Among these is Provence in southern France, where the Vinther Bramm family from Thurø was enjoying a well-deserved and warm summer holiday until a few days ago, before they were evacuated in the middle of a restaurant visit.

"At around half past eight, firefighters ran into the restaurant and evacuated us, telling us we had to get away quickly because the fire had spread over many hectares and more than 1,000 firefighters had been deployed," says Mads Vinther Bramm when DR News catches him on the phone.

Mads Vinther Bramm with daughters Emma and Clara and his wife Mette in Provence. (Photo: © Private)

--------------------

Flames showed their teeth

--------------------

The family, consisting of mother, father, and two daughters, was on holiday with some friends in Provence, located in southern France.

And even before the evacuation, the flames had begun to show their teeth, says Mads Vinther Bramm, who had settled by the pool at the summer house early one morning.

"When we had settled by the pool, we could clearly smell smoke and fire, a bit like standing close to a campfire. Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared behind the trees by our pool, and afterwards we noticed that ash was falling into our food and the pool."

At that point, the family and friends had been warned that there were wildfires in the area, but according to the father, the authorities informed them that they should take it easy and that they would hear from them if there was any development.

----------------------------

Things were thrown into the car

----------------------------

And the development moves quickly, Mads Vinther Bramm experienced, as later the same day he ends up being evacuated along with his family from the restaurant where they were sitting at a table.

"We packed the car faster than ever before. We had to drive back to my parents' summer house to pack our things. So everything was thrown into the car while the children slowly understood the seriousness."

"While all this was happening, we could see the flames from our terrace, and our phones, including my oldest daughter's, started sounding that alarm we hear back home in May when they test the sirens," he says.

Mads Vinther Bramm says the family is now safe and a few hours away from the flames currently ravaging large areas in southern France. But both parents and children needed a moment to process the experience.

"We've calmed down and enjoyed the last of the sun before slowly heading back to Denmark."

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.