A trio of friends from Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, who were camping at Cliff House Holiday Park, ended up sleeping in a cosy VW Golf on Wednesday night.
“We didn’t get much sleep,” said Lynne Sawyer, speaking to the at Westleton village earlier.
Crowds attended the market and Barbara Buckley, chairwoman of the trustees of Westleton Village Hall, said: “I thought it would be a good thing for people to be able to chat about things that aren’t about the fire.”
Some of the people helped were primary school age children from countries including Hong Kong, Singapore and Germany, taking part in the Pro Corda summer music school.
They had to evacuate from the grounds of Leiston Abbey, three miles from the wildfire, but local boarding school Framlingham College offered them alternative accommodation.
“My phone was blowing up with worried calls from parents – some of these kids have never been away from home before,” said course organiser Annabel Thwaite.