[EN] This is what San Juan de la Peña looks like now: the fire burns its surroundings but saves the monasteries

The surroundings of the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña already show one of the most shocking images left by the fire of Las Peñas de Riglos. Where until a few days ago the green and the thickness of the forest dominated, the fire has drawn a blackened landscape a short distance from one of the most important historical sites in Aragon. Fortunately, and despite the proximity of the flames, their advance has been slowed down and the buildings have not suffered structural damage.

The situation became especially delicate during the past week. The monumental complex closed its doors on Wednesday, August 12 due to the advance of the fire and, just a day later, the flames were about two kilometers away. The threat forced the adoption of extraordinary measures in both the Old and New Monasteries and the withdrawal of part of their patrimony to save it.

THE RIGLOS FIRE LEAVES ITS MARK NEXT TO SAN JUAN DE LA PEÑA

The fire advanced through wooded areas near the complex and directly threatened its surroundings, but the work of the troops deployed has made it possible to contain the flames before they reached the monasteries. The Old Monastery was one of the points that generated the most concern due to its location in a ravine surrounded by a large forest mass, a circumstance that complicated a possible direct intervention in the event that the fire reached there.

The threat also forced the protection of some of the pieces of greatest historical value preserved in San Juan de la Peña. Members of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) participated in the evacuation of these goods during the moments of greatest risk. The remains of medieval Aragonese monarchs were transferred to the Provincial Museum of Huesca, while paintings, other heritage pieces and the mortuary coat of the X Count of Aranda, Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, were also evacuated.

The architectural heritage has managed to be safeguarded, but the trace of the fire at Las Peñas de Riglos in San Juan de la Peña is already visible in its surroundings. The areas reached by the flames now have burnt trees and blackened land that contrast with the landscape that until just a few days ago surrounded the monasteries, leaving a deep environmental loss next to one of the places most linked to the history and identity of Aragon.