[EN] Juan Francisco Torralba, mayor of Las Peñas de Riglos: «The residents are very tired, but they are beginning to see the light»

The residents evicted by the fire in Las Peñas de Riglos, in the Hoya de Huesca, are beginning to see the return to their homes closer after more than a week marked by uncertainty. The City Council is already working to recover basic services in the affected areas and prepare relocations that, if the evolution of the fire allows it, could begin in a staggered manner from tomorrow.

The mayor of Las Peñas de Riglos, Juan Francisco Torralba, said on Wednesday that this announcement is already «a light» for the neighbors, who see the return to their homes closer. «It may be tomorrow or it may be in a few days, but the situation already offers a little more hope,» he says. A news received with enthusiasm by those who have been away from their homes for more than a week, and in whom «fatigue is already beginning to weigh on them», says the mayor.

Some residents have been able to stay on their own, while others remain displaced in places such as Ayerbe and Jaca. During these days, convoys have been organized so that they could feed their animals or collect some belongings, but the general desire is to return as soon as possible. «People are already tired, they would like to be at home and calm, without anyone having to attend to them, each one of them on their own,» says Torralba.

The eviction has left especially harsh scenes among the older population. The mayor recalls how he had to personally help some neighbors to leave their homes in the middle of the night. «There are people here who are in their eighties, that I had to take them out of the house, arm in arm, at three in the morning,» he says. «They knew there was a fire, but you never think that the time will come when they will have to get out of there.»

THE RESIDENTS OF THE PEÑAS DE RIGLOS WANT TO RETURN HOME

The possibility of the first comebacks has changed the mood after a very complicated few days. Santa María de la Peña, Salinas, Bailo and other western towns could be among the first to recover their neighbors, as long as water, electricity, telephone and road safety are guaranteed. «The others will do it shortly after,» says the mayor, although he insists that the process will have to be done «very staggered» and depending on safety.

That return, moreover, will not yet mean recovering complete normality. The extinguishing operation continues to occupy roads and areas near the command post, with an intense movement of helicopters, trucks and emergency vehicles. For this reason, the neighbors who can return will have to initially remain within their respective nuclei. «What more would we want the people here to be, all in the villages, each one at home, with tranquility and absolute mobility. But for the moment it will be that it is not,» admits Torralba.

Despite the restrictions and the fact that the evolution of the fire in Las Peñas de Riglos continues to be conditioned by the wind, temperatures and possible reproductions, hope is beginning to make its way among the neighbors to gradually recover their daily lives. «Little by little it will return to normal,» summarizes the mayor. After days away from home, the immediate objective in the evicted villages is much simpler: to return, close the door and recover the lost tranquility.