Concern among neighbors evacuated from wildfire as returning home is still not an option

Residents of the Brucardes neighborhood in the inland town of Sant Fruitós de Bages are concerned as returning home is still not an option. The wildfire in Pont de Vilomara that started on Sunday afternoon is endangering their houses and has forced them to flee. 

Initially, it was thought that they would be able to return on Monday morning but the closest flank to the residential area is still burning strong in a blaze that has already affected over 1,600 hectares. 

Sant Fruitós de Bages mayor Àdria Mazcuñán urged residents to stay away while firefighters work. Roads to the area have been cut off.

"The fire is unpredictable," she said, and as officials saw on Sunday evening when the flames crossed a river and started burning in an area that nobody had expected would be affected.

On Sunday, around 500 people were evacuated from their homes. The vast majority spent the night at friends’ houses, but others stayed in a shelter set up by the city council. Others decided to remain confined in their houses.

Neighbors are "hopeless and discouraged," the mayor said, especially as the fire has not yet been controlled and some have had to leave their pets at home.

"When they told us we had to evacuate, I was home alone. My parents and brother weren't there. I have two dogs and a cat and wow, I had to get everything and it was quite stressful," Ania Pradell, one of the evacuated residents, told to the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

Rosa Maria, however, had to leave her two dogs behind in the garage and she is desperate to return to see how her pets are doing. 

"I am only worried for my dogs, who are in the garage. Luckily for them, they have water, but we do not know if our house will be affected as we are surrounded by forest," she said to ACN.

According to Mazcuñán, two homes in Brucardes have been heavily affected, while others have been partially burned.

River Park, first neighborhood to be evacuated

Residents from the River Park neighborhood were the first to be evacuated on Sunday afternoon when the fire broke out. Some have gone to stay with friends or relatives, while others are in shelters.

After long hours of waiting to return home, residents have praised the work of firefighters and authorities, but have denounced the "negligence" of the city council regarding abandoned houses. 

"We have already filed several complaints about the lack of cleaning in the area," Marta Corbalan, one resident said. "We, residents, have clean our security areas but as for plots that are abandoned, it only depended on us to clean them, as no one else did," she added.

"We have been told that the fire is contained, but because of the time of day and the temperature, it is still dangerous," she concluded. Other residents have already give up hope on returning home, at least today.

People had to leave the neighborhood quickly, as children cried and some were even forced to leave their dogs behind.

"The fire was not at all close to us, but it slowly started burning the right part to access the River Park neighborhood and everything got out of control, it all happened really fast," Gerard Candel, another resident, told ACN.

What he is most worried about now is whether the dogs have enough water to survive for hours. Although he has received confirmation that his home is still standing, the entire surrounding area has burned down.