Mullingar woman recounts frantic escape from Spain's raging wildfires

Eilís Ryan

A Mullingar man has spoken of his worries for his wife and children, who had to flee his in-laws’ home on Saturday as fire began to threaten their village in central Spain.

“I was worried, but I was keeping a brave face up,” says Loughnavalley native, Declan Fox, as he described how his wife, Elena Sanchez Nogan, and their two children Declan (11) and Matilde (9) Fox Sanchez, together with Elena’s elderly parents were among thousands who were evacuated from the village of Cadalso de los Vidrios, about 80km west of Madrid.

Elena, now safe but unsure what fate lies ahead for her family’s home, told the Westmeath Examiner that there is no sign of the wildfires stopping: “Things don’t seem that they are going to get any better any way soon,” she said.

“The fires are still going on, and they don’t have any date for when it will end. It is expanding all over. They put down some fires overnight – but they flame up again.”

It was a week that started with joy and ended in terror: “[On Sunday week] we were celebrating the World Cup, all happy,” says Elena, who has been married to Declan for 13 years, the couple having met when she moved here to improve her English.

The next day, a fire started nearby, in the province of Toledo: “That is close to my parents, and so we knew about it, but didn’t take much notice, although we were keeping an eye on it,” says Elena.

“The thing is, part of this area is prone to having fires – but this is something else.”

From Elena’s parents’ house, they could see the flames and the smoke, and the night sky lit up – and it was clear the situation was getting worse. Another fire started then in the town of Burgohondo, which is about 50km away, in the province of Ávila.

“It quickly advanced towards where we live, and then a car went on fire in the next town to ours and it spread quickly. Soon, we were surrounded.” There were three big fires around the village, but we were lucky because the air was clear and we could breathe.”

By Thursday, things were becoming tense: “People in the village were trying to go on with their normal lives, carry on with the shopping, but we were all afraid, and we knew eventually we would be evacuated.”

At that stage, some people began leaving of their own accord.

At home in Mullingar, Declan was deeply concerned – especially as it began to get difficult to speak to his wife and children, as the fire affected mobile phone networks. Elena said that occasionally, they could get or send a WhatsApp message, and on Friday, as word filtered in that the fire had spread to the fields surrounding their village, “people were very unsettled”.

At 6am on Saturday, the smell of smoke woke her up: “I went out to the street, and you could see the smoke and the ashes coming down.”

Concerned that they would be facing confinement, she went to the shop to get food enough for two or three days. “But it was very unsettled. Lots of Guardia Civil, lots of police, civil protection. It was busy with airplanes for dropping water.”

She met a cousin: “My cousin said to me, ‘Elena, we have to leave’.”

Elena didn’t have to worry just about getting her children and herself to safety, but also her 86-year-old dad and her 79-year-old mother, both of whom have serious health challenges.

Her father did not want to leave. He was in fear not just for the house, which has been in the family for generations, but also for his beloved olive bushes and almond trees.

Then came a government text alert warning the people of Cadalso de los Vidrios that they needed to leave and her father accepted they would have to go: “We gathered just a few things, basic things like a change of clothes and the passports and money. And then the police came knock on the doors and say ‘you have to leave now’.”

They had the option of leaving by car or on the bus – but as cars were being told to take a different route out, Elena felt it was safer to go on the bus, and they were taken to an emergency shelter at a sports hall in Madrid, and each given hygiene packs.

“Where we are now – 68km from the fire – we can smell the smoke,” says Elena.

According to Reuters, the fire surrounding Cadalso de los Vidrios has become one of most serious fire emergencies in Spain in recent years. The blaze, driven by extreme heat, strong winds and tinder-dry vegetation, spread rapidly across the Sierra Oeste region before merging with other fires in neighbouring Ávila province, prompting Spain to declare a national wildfire emergency.

In total, around 70,000 people have been evacuated from communities west of Madrid, including Cadalso de los Vidrios. Hundreds of elderly and vulnerable residents have also been transferred from nursing homes to emergency accommodation.

Thousands of firefighters, supported by military personnel, water-bombing aircraft and European Union firefighting resources, are battling the flames. While cooler temperatures and higher humidity have offered some relief, officials warn that shifting winds continue to threaten containment efforts. Roads remain closed, smoke has prompted air quality warnings across Madrid, and emergency services say conditions remain volatile despite intensive firefighting operations.

Elena, who works as a special needs assistant in local schools, and the two children are due to return to Mullingar next week. Declan and Matilde, who attend Taughmon NS, are both keen on sports, and hurling and camogie with Crookedwood GAA.