This Saturday, Emilia López, the president of the El Encinar del Alberche homeowners’ association, made up of 1,700 plots, 82% of which are built, sent a letter to Belén Rodríguez, the popular mayor of Villa del Prado, her municipality, located in the Sierra Oeste, on behalf of hundreds of residents. “The recent fires have revealed a reality that many of us have been perceiving for years, the feeling that the urbanization only exists when it is convenient, but not when it really needs the support of its City Council,” the letter states. The flames fuel the discomfort of residents who claim to feel abandoned by their mayor. The Almorox (Toledo) fire destroyed 43 homes and another 286 houses suffered damages of varying degrees, according to the initial triage carried out in the urbanization.
The mayor, however, assures that she maintains contact with the affected residents, states that there are more affected areas in the municipality, and defends that the central government assumes command given the seriousness of the situation. “There are totally burnt homes, although the worst part has been taken by the exterior of the plots. Families cannot access their houses. They have completely abandoned us,” says López.
When the fire started, she claims to have been the one who raised the alarm and contacted the mayor to inform her of the seriousness of what was happening. “She didn’t know anything. Emergency services along with the maintenance and concierge staff of the urbanization coordinated the evacuation of the affected areas and the warning to residents to preserve their safety,” she explains after recalling that resident teams coordinated to feed pets.
In her case, she tried to alert residents through social media. Now, she indicates, the workers of the closed urbanization continue to work: “They put out small outbreaks that occur at night and make rounds due to the lack of personnel.” She is aware that extinguishing the fire was the responsibility of the emergency services and values “the extraordinary work they have done.” However, she understands that the role of a City Council during an emergency also consists of staying by its residents’ side, taking an interest in their situation, knowing their needs, and maintaining constant communication with those managing the crisis on the ground. “That institutional support at such a delicate moment was precisely what we missed,” she insists.
“We haven’t had help. Whenever I talk to the mayor, it’s because I call her, she never calls me; they could ask us what we need,” she insists. She states that residents managed access for firefighters and that the City Council only provided them with a generator to pump water that didn’t work. “We waited to receive another, without success. We had to rent one,” the woman explains. She complains that she only receives vague and ineffective responses, while uncertainty takes its toll on the residents. “We need to know what measures will be taken; there’s no water and electricity only in some houses. They should have told us how the fire was evolving or what resources could be made available to us. The City Council didn’t even offer a bottle of water,” she recounts.
In response to these statements, the mayor of Villa del Prado expresses perplexity: “The situation we are experiencing is terrifying, and now we are dealing with what is urgent. Yes, I have maintained continuous contact with López,” she indicates from Cenicientos, where she has just left a meeting at the command post. She points out that most of the residents of the urbanization left for Madrid, while another 300 people have been housed since Wednesday in the municipal sports center.
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“I cannot act. As in all other fires, firefighters, Civil Protection, Civil Guard, Police have worked… There are even seaplanes. The fire is not extinguished. We go from scare to scare. The national government has assumed command, I do not decide what needs to be done,” she states.
At this moment, the president of the homeowners’ association denounces that she still does not know how the rehousing of affected residents will be managed, when it might occur, or what specific solutions will be offered to them. “Visiting the fire site for a few minutes can be an institutional gesture. However, governing implies much more. It means staying by the residents’ side when the media emergency ends. That presence, unfortunately, we have not felt,” her letter states.
The mayor claims that she cannot tell residents to return to their homes without an order. She states that she has information from the General Directorate of Emergencies about the state of the houses and plots, but clarifies that she cannot provide it to López: “I have informed the residents housed in the sports center that they could go up to the urbanization escorted to see how their residences are and collect medication or clothes, but only in the houses that are accessible.” She emphasizes that in an emergency situation, one must proceed step by step and day by day, being aware that much work remains to be done and grateful that there are no injuries.
“My maintenance staff also has to be in the urban area. We have had three other fires that have destroyed a large part of the municipality; not only the urbanization is affected,” she points out. López has requested an urgent meeting between the City Council, the community president, the heads of emergency services, and the competent bodies, and the mayor assures that she will receive her this Saturday in person at the town hall.
