‘Our house? It’s completely burned,’ say two residents affected by blaze

"Our house? It’s completely burned," two residents in the River Park neighborhood in the inland town of Pont de Vilomara told Catalan News. They are part of the over 200 evacuated because of the wildfire affecting Bages county since Sunday afternoon.

Their house, as many, was made out of concrete and iron, and the windows "burst and flames came up through them," Eduardo Guerrero said. 

Fridges, clothes, beds… "Everything" has been burned down, Guerrero added. Even, their old memories.

María Dolores Sánchez and Eduardo Guerrero are two neighbors affected by the blaze. They had been living in the house for 20 years and it was currently under construction. 

"We already know that nothing can be done for the house," Maria Dolores Sánchez said after losing her home. As it was being refurbished, they did not have any insurance.

Her worse regret is not opening the doors to their pony and goats. "This is the worst," she mourns. If she had opened the gates, "animals could escape, but my husband said, ‘we have to rush out of the house!"

The couple had several animals, three chickens, eight geese, and even eight ducks.   

When the fire started, authorities told them to "confine, to remain indoors and to cover all windows because of the smoke and the fire in front of us," they remember. 

But everything changed in a matter of seconds, Guerrero was watering everything to avoid the flames getting closer but "when I saw the fire, it was in the pine trees next to my house," Sánchez looks back.

"We are in shock," she adds, before saying that her husband wants to return home and check if any of the animals survived.

Several in a similar situation

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 were "hopeless and discouraged," the mayor said on Monday morning, especially as 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.

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.