Two months after wildfires destroyed homes, belongings and decades of memories, survivors describe what it really means to lose everything and thank the community that helped them begin again.

When wildfires swept through parts of the Pyrénées-Orientales, the response from the local community was immediate. Neighbours offered accommodation, clothing, food and veterinary assistance. Friends and strangers donated money, shared appeals and helped however they could.

In those first frantic days, there was little time for those affected to understand what had happened. They had to find somewhere to sleep, replace essential belongings, care for injured animals and begin dealing with the practical consequences of losing their homes. It was only later, when the immediate emergency had passed, that the true emotional impact began to emerge.

P-O Life helped to create and share two fundraisers for local people whose lives were devastated by the fires. Together, the appeals raised approximately €5,000. Behind that figure are real people, each trying to come to terms with losses that cannot simply be replaced.

One fundraiser was created for four neighbouring households whose homes and land were destroyed. One woman lost her home, all her possessions and her beloved dog. Another resident lost her home and several of her animals, while others required urgent veterinary treatment. A couple saw the home they had shared for more than 20 years completely destroyed. Another resident lost his food forest, vegetable gardens, tools, personal belongings and years of painstaking work.

The fundraiser raised €3,675 from 29 donors. The money is being divided between the four households so that each can use their share according to their own immediate needs.

Some of those affected joined us at the recent P-O Life magazine launch and wine-tasting event at Les Caves Maillol. They wanted to meet members of the community and express their gratitude personally.

Not everyone affected feels able to speak publicly about what happened. For some, the experience is still simply too painful to revisit. Two of the survivors have, however, shared their experiences in their own words.

How do you talk about losing everything?

One survivor described the painful reality of grieving not only for a house, but for all the ordinary moments that made it a home.

How do you talk about losing everything?

It’s been a little over a month now, and it’s beginning to hurt a little less. But it’s still very much there, beneath the smiles and the laughter. Beneath the appearance of normality.

How do you react to seeing everything you built, everything you worked for day after day for six years, go up in smoke?

I want to walk from the gate to my bed again, late at night, and feel completely safe. I want to feel my cool sheets again and snuggle into my bed out of sheer delight. I want to wake up and step onto my terrace to do yoga in the cool morning air.

I want to make salad in my favourite red bowl again. I want to sit at my desk and see my dad’s picture looking back at me. I want to have breakfast among the beautiful green trees and shrubs and feel like the luckiest person.

But it’s never going to happen again. The whole world I created for myself, this beautiful paradise built with 95% recycled materials that I managed to turn into a beautiful, cosy home, is gone.

People say it’s only material, but it’s far more than that. It’s home. It’s all the little things, the colours, fabrics and objects that filled your life for many, many years. From one moment to the next, none of it exists any more.

The strange thing is that your brain doesn’t know. Your brain keeps going back there. It wants to put on those shoes, go to that bathroom and walk those paths again.

So you have to say goodbye again and again and again.

But yes, of course, life goes on. You rebuild yourself day after day. It helps to have the support of people who are going through the same thing and who understand why, even almost two months later, you still sometimes suddenly begin to cry.

It was only material, but it was our whole life too.

Fifty years of memories disappeared in an instant

Another survivor lost her chalet, caravan, possessions and several beloved animals when the fire reached her home.

The fire broke out in Trévillach on 4 July. On 5 July, the wind picked up and began changing direction, carrying the flames towards my little paradise, my little home.

My chalet and caravan went up in smoke. In an instant, I lost everything, including 50 years of memories. The most painful loss was my animals.

Three of my cats were badly burned. Two died, while the third spent three weeks in a veterinary clinic. My six guinea pigs were killed in the fire. My little cockerel and one of my hens died afterwards, I think from the shock.

How can you possibly express the violence of those images in words?

The sound of my footsteps on the ashes, among the shattered crockery, glass and nails, still sometimes echoes in my head. I also find it very difficult to look at the blackened landscape.

A month and a half later, a smile appears on my face from time to time, but I know this ordeal will remain in my memory for the rest of my life.

I try to think like my friend Kaika and tell myself: there must surely be a hidden gift behind this injustice.

Yes, I believe there is.

A separate fundraiser was created for a 72-year-old man who also lost everything in the fires. What makes his story particularly cruel is that this was not the first time. Several years earlier, another fire had already taken everything from him. He had rebuilt his life once, only to face the same devastating loss again. His appeal raised approximately €1,500 to help him begin rebuilding for a second time.

The money raised cannot restore a cherished photograph, bring back a beloved animal or recreate the feeling of safety that once existed inside a home. What it can do is help with the immediate realities of starting again. It can pay for clothing, food, temporary accommodation, household essentials, tools and the countless everyday items that suddenly need to be replaced.

Just as importantly, every donation and message has reminded those affected that they have not been forgotten.

P-O Life’s role was simply to help connect people in need with a community willing to support them. The generosity came from every person who donated, shared an appeal, offered practical assistance or sent a kind message.

The deepest thanks come from the survivors themselves. Even while living through shock, grief and uncertainty, they wanted people to know how much that support has meant. Some are not yet ready to describe what they experienced, and they may never wish to do so publicly. Their silence does not make their gratitude, or their loss, any less profound.

The fundraiser for the four neighbouring households remains open for anyone who would still like to help:

Donate to help four neighbours rebuild after the Pyrénées-Orientales wildfires

The fires may be over, but for those who survived them, recovery is only beginning. Their homes were taken in a matter of moments. Rebuilding their lives, and learning to feel safe again, will take much longer.

Despite everything they have lost, the women wanted to end with a smile and a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported them. Through the devastation, their friendship has grown stronger, helping them face each day together as they begin to rebuild their lives.