The Leganés City Council has thanked the overwhelming donations from residents and requests that no more food or clothing be taken to the reception centre at La Cantera, where 171 evacuees from the Sierra Oeste fire are already accommodated.
The reception centre set up at the La Cantera Sports Facility in Leganés has received such a large quantity of donations from residents that the City Council has had to ask for contributions of food, clothing, and essential products to stop. The citizens' response has exceeded all expectations, and Civil Protection is now loading vehicles to transport the surplus material to other municipalities where help is still needed.
The Council has expressed its heartfelt gratitude for the involvement of the residents and has assured that if new contributions are needed at any point, it will be communicated through official channels. For now, the basic needs of the evacuees are covered.
Since Friday afternoon, La Cantera has been hosting 171 people who have had to leave their homes due to the forest fire affecting the Sierra Oeste of the Community of Madrid. The first evacuees arrived from municipalities such as Pelayos de la Presa and Navas del Rey.
The reception operation is coordinated by Leganés Civil Protection, with the collaboration of Local Police, National Police, Red Cross, and the Military Emergency Unit (UME), which has set up 150 beds to accommodate the displaced. Additionally, numerous companies in the municipality have contributed by sending trucks with water, food, hygiene products, and items intended for children.
The Minister of Education, Science and Universities of the Community of Madrid, Mercedes Zarzalejo (PP), visited the reception centre alongside the mayor of Leganés, Miguel Ángel Recuenco, to assess the situation of the evacuees. During the visit, they spoke with several of those affected and thanked the emergency services and Civil Protection for their work.
The Community of Madrid maintains 15 reception points distributed across various municipalities to assist people evacuated due to the fire. A total of 2,468 people are already receiving assistance there, with Móstoles, Las Rozas, Alcalá de Henares, Villaviciosa de Odón, and Leganés being some of the municipalities with the highest number of evacuees.
In these spaces, temporary accommodation, meals, personal hygiene, and health, psychological, and social support are provided. To facilitate the stay of children, children's activities are also organized, and leisure areas have been set up.
The evolution of the fire has necessitated an expansion of the emergency operation in the afternoon. At 18:50, the Community of Madrid sent an ES-Alert message to residents of the El Encinar del Alberche urbanization, towards Villa del Prado, ordering their evacuation and reminding them of the confinement of the municipality.
Both the Community of Madrid and the 112 emergency service have insisted that, unless expressly requested by the reception centres, it is not necessary to continue bringing food, clothing, or materials, as the basic needs of the evacuees are covered, and donations should only be channelled when required.
For residents of Leganés who wish to help, the City Council recommends staying alert to official channels and not going to the reception centre without prior notice. The priority now is to manage the material already received and ensure care for the 171 evacuees remaining at La Cantera.
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