The municipalities of the Sierra Oeste de Madrid are gradually returning to normality after the large fire that affected nearly 27,000 hectares between July and August. The road that crosses Navas del Rey, Pelayos de la Presa, and San Martín de Valdeiglesias retains the portrait of the devastation caused by the fire: a contrast between charred vegetation and some green patches of trees that escaped the flames. As part of the recovery plan after the fire, the regional government announced this Wednesday that it will allocate one million euros to help self-employed workers and SMEs that lost their computer equipment to recover it.
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The Minister of Digitalization, Miguel López-Valverde, announced this Wednesday the aid line with which the Community of Madrid will provide grants of up to 5,000 euros per business for the replacement of computers, point of sale terminals (POS), network devices and connections, as well as data and computer system recovery and the implementation of management, e-commerce, and cybersecurity tools.
López-Valverde explained that efforts will focus on helping with the recovery of the technology that supports all businesses in the affected municipalities, which includes data recovery, connectivity, and infrastructure. “This is the part that the Ministry of Digitalization will lead within the plan of this reconstruction project with more than 50 measures that have already been communicated from the presidency,” he noted. To receive the grant, one must be self-employed and have been affected by the fire. The aid line, the minister announced, will be launched in the coming days.
In addition to financial support, the initiative includes a specialized accompaniment service to assess the impact of the fires on each business and guide those affected on the actions and solutions they can request. Based on this diagnosis, beneficiaries will receive advice to determine the options that best suit their needs. Expenses incurred since the start of the emergency will also be eligible for subsidies, so that those affected can begin the necessary actions to recover their activity as soon as possible, without having to wait for the call to be published.
“We know that recovering a business after a fire is not just about repairing the premises. Many self-employed workers need their computer equipment, internet connection, or the data they work with every day. We want to help them restore these tools as soon as possible and support them throughout the process,” López-Valverde said.
“We are in nightmare two”
Alongside Minister López-Valverde appeared the mayor of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Aránzazu Povedano (PP), who said that “after the hell experienced” during the fire, they are now going through “nightmare two,” which consists of assessing the areas that have burned and the people who have been affected. The mayor criticized that no minister or representative of Pedro Sánchez’s government has visited the area affected by the fire after it was controlled. “No one from the government has come to any town in the Sierra Oeste nor to the Sierra de Gredos nor to the Valle de Iruelas. The only thing they show is that they do not care at all, that this area does not matter to them,” she denounced.
Povedano has requested the central government to issue a decree authorizing the affected municipalities to breach fiscal rules. “We are bearing expenses that were not foreseen to date. Therefore, this town hall will not comply.”
The mayor of San Martín de Valdeiglesias recalled that environmentally, that area was “spectacular and extraordinary,” but lamented that they have lost it after the fire. “I still want to see someone from the government come and show concern, and ask not only me but any mayor in the Sierra how we are doing. In the end, they are offending the mayors who are indeed suffering, regardless of political party,” Povedano emphasized.
