The biggest scare came when she and her husband Mattias were still in Sweden. Once they were down in the village of Carcès in southeastern France, they were met with unexpected calm by evacuees from the neighbouring village of Cotignac.
"I almost get goosebumps," says Ann Lindgren about the solidarity they have encountered from the villagers in recent days.
It turned out that the villagers had not only opened their homes to those whose houses had burned down, but had also set up collections with everything from dog and cat food to bed linen for those in need. And at the local bakery, staff had worked all night to distribute baguettes to the firefighters.
They themselves bought a house in Carcès last winter, and it has not been affected. The fact that there are now fires in several places in the area is not something that worries them directly, even though they were woken up last night by up to five local alerts on their mobile phones about ongoing fires.
We bought it because there are several nearby rivers and other bodies of water, so there was a safety concern from the beginning. But you mourn all the beautiful nature that is now burning down.
They themselves take extra care of the affected animals. During the fire, dogs as well as cows and goats were lost in the chaos, says Ann Lindgren. Animals that are now not found by their owners.
Stray dogs are welcome here. And also people who need a place to sleep. We will open up our home to them.
In Cap Ferret, west of Bordeaux, the Swedish Zetterström family on vacation witnesses a different atmosphere.
It was such a strange feeling. From being full of people swimming and playing in the pool, it was suddenly completely empty and cordoned off. It felt dystopian and the smoke was pungent.
