What was supposed to be a special birthday holiday for Jordan & Aaron didn't last last long. There dream holiday with Mum Suzanne and Dad Kes turned into a disaster in the algarve.
A couple of days into there holiday, news broke of Forest Fires spreading in neighbouring towns.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIrEmo_DPC4
Suzanne said: "The ash and smoke got so bad that we were all suffering really badly with our asthma and went indoors to try and find out some news/updates from somewhere. Our swimming pool and outdoor area started to fill up quickly with ash and smoke, the sky was thick and bright orange from the flames, and as we looked all around our house we felt trapped. Luckily a fire volunteer came to the house and told us we all had to evacuate immediately as the fire was about to hit us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9UBR7odsgs
We very quickly packed a few things, locked all windows/doors and left, not even sure what we were leaving behind. But they were just things, my family is my world and Kes and I just wanted to get them to safety as fast as we possibly could. It was very traumatic for us all. As we got in the car the forest fires appeared over our balcony, everyone was in a panic on the streets trying to get to safety, you could hear emergency sirens everywhere, people were covering there nose/mouth with masks as you just couldn't breath and visibility was awful. There were fire trucks and police everywhere trying to evacuate everyone. It was like something out of a movie! We eventually drove away from the fires in Silves and checked in to a hotel about an hour further south. That night the police issued a report stating it could take a few days to clear the fire so we knew our holiday was well and truly cut short, still in shock we felt like we we're stuck in limbo, however bit shaken but we were safe."
Fire crews struggled to bring the wildfires under control and the fires literally lasted the whole 2 weeks we were in Portugal."
"After a day or 2 we were allowed access albeit briefly, back to the house to collect the rest of our belongings.....but we were not ready for the devastation we encountered. My heart breaks for the wildlife, those who lost there livelihood and the 50,000 + acres of land completely destroyed. Almost 2000 fire crew members/volunteers worked tirelessly around the clock to help put out the fires. The fire did reach our house and on entering it we were just overcome with the smoke, the smell of burning, the sheer amount of ash/debris surrounding us and miraculously despite all that our belongings were ok. Although as we stept outside onto the balcony we soon realised the extent of the devastation surrounding us. Infact there were still fires burning over our wall so we worked desperately to try and put the fires out by refilling bottles of water and the girls would pass them over the wall to us as we frantically tried to stem the blaze. We did what we could but the smoke inhalation ontop of our asthma did not bode well at all and we were forced to stop. We did let the authorities know and neighbours continued to help too. We were the lucky ones, we came home, but my heart breaks for those left behind to cope with the aftermath of this tragedy. We'd like to thank everyone who showed concern for us during the fires, we've had so many of our friends and family sending lovely messages and they all really helped get us through it."
The wildfires have charred a record 215,000 hectares (531,000 acres) so far this year, an area almost the size of Luxembourg, and the government announced while we were still in Portugal, a national disaster in some areas and requested financial aid from the European Union.
The forest fires started in the Monchique area of the algarve but due to the sweltering temperatures and very strong winds the fires continued to spread.
"Before the fires reached us we watched a local farmer at the bottom of our hill out in his Bulldozer working through the night to create firebreaks to help stop the fires from reaching his farmland and home."
We watched air support including planes and helicopters dropping water on the burning mountains opposite our holiday home, it was a truly horrific sight. Almost 60,000 acres of land was charred by the fires, almost 2000 rescue workers, fire fighters and helped by 240 soldiers, tried to contain the fires through our hilly area of dense forest closeby. They were out day and night and over 30 aircrafts were deployed too. Sadly, shortly before we flew home the death toll from those two weeks of record blazes rose to 16 when a firefighter, who had been burned in the forest fire last week, died of his injuries. Local residents set up a fund in town to help support the fire fighters, they asked for donations of water, skin burns solutions, thick socks, snacks etc. Kes and I went into the store, forget what we even went in for but knew we just had to fill the trolley and donate it to the rescuers. Each and everyone of those soldiers, volunteers and fire fighters deserve a medal and I really hope the government help with the rehoming of so many families. We did however try to end our holiday on a high note by surprising our daughters with a trip to the local water park where they both enjoyed swimming with dolphins."
