Forest fires that for several days have been affecting the provinces of Ávila, Madrid and Toledo continue to mobilize hundreds of emergency personnel, while the Church keeps its resources for shelter and assistance deployed for the thousands of residents impacted by one of the largest forest emergencies recorded in Spain in recent years.
During the night from Sunday to Monday, firefighting teams took advantage of the drop in temperatures and increased humidity to try to consolidate the perimeter of the main hotspots before the arrival of a new heat wave, expected for this Wednesday.
The fire that originated in Burgohondo (Ávila) has already exceeded 50,000 hectares burned and is considered the largest recorded to date in Spain. Adding the major fires in Madrid and Toledo, the affected area exceeds 77,000 hectares, while more than 90,000 people have had to be evacuated or confined in the affected territories.
Parishes, Caritas and dioceses organize care for evacuees
In the diocese of Getafe, parishes and Caritas are collaborating with local councils in assisting evacuated residents. In Villaviciosa de Odón, one of the main reception points, parish volunteers distributed blankets, clothing and food, as well as organizing spaces for children while their families remained outside their homes.
At the La Marazuela sports center in Las Rozas, a Eucharist was also celebrated for the evacuees, while local priests remained accompanying the hosted families.
Caritas Diocesana de Getafe also launched a campaign to channel aid for the affected populations.
Bishops and priests accompany affected families
The bishop of Getafe, Mons. Ginés García Beltrán, from the first moments of the emergency called for prayers for those affected and for those working on extinguishing the fires.
For his part, the auxiliary bishop, Mons. José María Avendaño, visited several reception centers over the weekend, including the one in Villaviciosa de Odón, accompanied by Caritas officials and the Vicariate of Charity. There he greeted the evacuees, thanked the work of volunteers and emergency services, and conveyed the diocese’s support to the displaced families.
In Ávila, Bishop Jesús Rico García made the diocese’s material and human resources available to the authorities. The Seminary and the House of Exercises were offered to accommodate both evacuated people and members of the firefighting teams who needed rest or to wash.
The emergency also reaches Church institutions
The advance of the flames forced the evacuation over the weekend of the Minor Seminary School of Rozas de Puerto Real, belonging to the diocese of Getafe, where about 250 young people were participating in a summer camp along with several priests. All of them were transferred to other municipalities for safety reasons.
The community of the Augustinian Sisters of the Conversion in Sotillo de la Adrada (Ávila) also had to leave their monastery due to the proximity of the fire and were taken in by the Augustinian Sisters of San Ildefonso in Talavera de la Reina.
In statements to Alfa y Omega, the superior of the monastery, Mother Prado González, expressed her concern for the situation of the residents and for the destruction of the natural environment. “We are deeply saddened. Seeing how that plant heritage, that beautiful creation, has been destroyed causes immense pain,” she said.
The fires recorded in recent days also affected other parts of Spain. In Cerro Muriano (Córdoba), the fire declared on July 25 burned nearly 200 hectares after starting from a truck loaded with straw catching fire.
Among the episodes left by the emergency is that of the shrine of Our Lady of the Pine Groves, in the Córdoba mountains, which remained intact after having been practically surrounded by the flames.