The Paco Sedano pavilion in Móstoles is hosting over 400 people evacuated due to the forest fire affecting the southwest of the Community of Madrid. Most are from Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Cadalso de los Vidrios.
The Paco Sedano pavilion in Móstoles has become an improvised home for those evacuated by the forest fire ravaging the southwest of the Community of Madrid. On the camp beds set up by the Military Emergency Unit (UME), backpacks, stuffed animals, dog leashes, and mobile phone chargers are piled up. The uncertainty about what will happen to their homes is the dominant feeling among the displaced.
The Móstoles City Council has accommodated around 400 people since Friday, mainly from Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Cadalso de los Vidrios. This Sunday, around 175 evacuees remained in the facility. All first went through a health triage and then met with social workers, who reviewed medications, special needs, and offered psychological support. A small pharmacy was even set up to avoid unnecessary travel.
“Physically they arrived well, but very disoriented due to the shock,” municipal sources explain. Tension eases when evacuees meet neighbours who have experienced the same situation. Among the younger ones, some no longer want to leave the pavilion because they have made friends.
Arturo, 72, rests on one of the rows of beds with his wife and their dog Dinqui. “They came to warn us when we were at home in Colmenar del Arroyo. We were going to take a bus, but they told us they didn’t accept pets. So we took the car and came ourselves,” he recalls. After three days away from home, fatigue weighs more than fear. “I don’t even know what day it is. They are treating us very well here, but we can’t sleep and we’re fed up. We want to go back.” His daughters live in Madrid, but in small flats: “We’re not going to bother them. We’ll stay here until they tell us we can return.”
Uncertainty is the word that is most repeated among the evacuees. Agustín, 75, arrived from Cadalso de los Vidrios with his daughter María and his granddaughters. “It’s very sad not knowing how our houses are and seeing how the forest is being destroyed. We can only trust those who are fighting the fire.”
María still relives the ten minutes she had to leave her home. She was watching the news about the fire when rumours of a possible evacuation began. Her daughters were out; she called family members, gathered her grandchildren and her sister, and was the last to leave the house. “I grabbed the dog’s food and two changes of underwear. It was like a horror movie. You saw people running through the streets and the police with megaphones telling us to leave.” The official mobile alert came when they were already on their way to Móstoles.
She speaks emotionally about the treatment received: “This place is wonderful. They are treating us extraordinarily well.” But the calm doesn’t last long. Her son remains confined in San Martín de Valdeiglesias with his wife and granddaughter. While she talks, a relative shows her the phone and mentions that the fire is reactivating in another area. María falls silent for a few seconds, stands up, and breaks down in tears. “I need to go out and breathe because not knowing when it will stop has me feeling terrible.”
Not everyone can contain their anguish. Tamara, María’s daughter, can barely speak through her tears: “If the fire reaches our houses, it’s all over.” Her biggest concern is not the house, but her brother, who remains outside the pavilion. “If he were here and had been evacuated, I would feel much more at ease.”
Agustín tries to keep the spirits of those around him up. He believes we must trust the resources deployed to extinguish the fire, although he also takes the opportunity to reflect on the loss of the natural environment: “I don’t know what legacy we are going to leave. We are not taking care of the planet.” Shortly after, he becomes emotional when talking about the solidarity found in these days. “We didn’t choose to leave home. Sleeping here is strange, with people you don’t know, some snore… but we have to be grateful for everything they are doing for us. The cleaning staff, Civil Protection, Red Cross… That is the good side of humanity.”
Nuria, 48, had only been living in Fresnedillas de la Oliva for two months when the fire completely changed her routine. “I didn’t expect this so soon. I left with just what I was wearing and now I just hope my house is okay,” she recounts.
The Paco Sedano pavilion continues to be the main reception point for evacuees, while firefighting teams continue to work to control the blaze. Authorities recommend that evacuees remain alert to official notices and not return to their homes until safety is guaranteed.
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