“United, any risk can be faced,” said King Felipe VI during his visit this Sunday to the residents evacuated due to the wildfire in the western mountains, in Villamanta, Madrid. The monarchs visited the town’s sports center, where hundreds of people affected from Villa del Prado, Aldea del Fresno, and other towns in the southwest of the community remain housed. From there, they highlighted the solidarity of the volunteers and the work of the emergency services: “We want to recognize the work of the UME, Civil Protection, and all the men and women deployed, who number in the thousands. They are carrying out work that must be valued and whose coordination is being exemplary.”
Felipe VI uttered these words from one of the reception points distributed across 14 municipalities in the Community of Madrid, which are hosting some 3,000 residents. According to the Government Delegation of Madrid, more than 35,000 people have been displaced by the emergency and more than 20,000 are confined. In addition, Civil Protection highlights that the fires in Ávila, Toledo, and Madrid have already burned 77,000 hectares.
For her part, the president of the Community of Madrid, who accompanied the monarchs on their visit to the site, later acknowledged, in response to specific questions from the media, that institutional collaboration is being “good”: “The coordination is good and must continue to be so, because this is far from over. The fire hasn’t even been extinguished yet,” she clarified. Ayuso maintained that the causes of all this are multiple and expressed her support for analyzing what has happened, how it could have been avoided, and from there, working, but “not pitting towns against each other, which I see is the trend right now and I understand it, because the situation is what it is, but it doesn’t help at all,” she insisted.
The monarch wanted to convey “affection, support, and understanding” to all the evacuated people who have had to leave their homes. “They have had a very hard time, some have been out of their homes for four days, they have lost many possessions, and we have lost an incalculable natural heritage,” he lamented. Queen Letizia also highlighted the importance of listening to those affected. “They tell how it was to leave their homes, that sadness, that uncertainty of not knowing when they will return or what they will find when they do. They also wonder what needs to be done so that this doesn’t happen again,” she noted.
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The King emphasized that “the main objective is to preserve human life and guarantee safety; then, to protect populations and minimize the damage caused by the fire.” He asked citizens to follow the authorities’ instructions.
The monarchs also wanted to thank international aid. Countries like Portugal, France, Greece, and Turkey have sent human and material resources to assist in the extinction efforts. “The European Union’s support mechanism is very necessary, and we should even consider strengthening it,” stated Felipe VI, recalling that France is simultaneously facing another large forest fire.
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