Restaurant owner evacuated in Igualeja fire: “Uncertainty, my heart in my mouth and lots of prayers”

Among those who have had to leave the area is Salvador Gil, owner of El Navasillo, one of the 'venta' restaurants that have been evacuated. He and his staff left the business behind without knowing how far the flames would reach.

“We’re upset, we’re in a bad way. We didn’t know what was going to happen, whether everything was going to burn down,” he told SUR.

The situation became more complicated after the fire crossed the Parauta road and continued to advance, driven by strong gusts of wind, which reached speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour. As a result, the roadside restaurants at La Laja and El Navasillo, as well as the petrol station at La Ventilla, had to be evacuated, while the firefighting team moved its forward command post to the Venta del Pastoreo campsite.

Gil recalls how the fire was closing in from the rear of the area while they kept a close watch on every change in its path. “The fire had already reached us from behind and they were telling us we had to leave,” he explains. There were several employees at the premises, and the Infoca command post had previously been located nearby, but it was eventually moved as the flames advanced.

It was then that they were told to leave the site for good. Leaving brought the workers to safety, but it meant several hours of waiting, during which they were unable to check what was happening to their property. “It’s about having faith that nothing will happen to you. Uncertainty, your heart in your mouth, and praying a lot. There’s nothing else you can do,” he sums up.

The fire came dangerously close. As Gil explains, Infoca crews used water to tackle the blaze in the immediate vicinity, and the condition of the land – with less undergrowth around the buildings – helped prevent the flames from spreading directly to them. “It got close, but Infoca were there; they hosed it down and, as the area is clearer of undergrowth, the fire didn’t reach the buildings,” he says.

The most immediate danger has passed for him, although he remains concerned. The fact that he cannot return while the restrictions remain in place means he cannot know exactly how extensive the damage is to properties in the surrounding area. “Until you go there, you won’t know whether your house has burnt down or not,” he explains.

Gil is now in Ronda. He hopes to be able to return once the fire situation allows the access roads to be reopened, but acknowledges that the uncertainty will continue until then. “I don’t know what we’ll find tomorrow when the road reopens,” he says.

Ronda town hall has opened the Civic Centre in the San Francisco neighbourhood to provide support for those who have been evacuated and need to use these facilities while they are unable to return to the affected area. For the time being, however, the regional minister for health and emergencies, Antonio Sanz, has stated that he is not aware of any of the evacuees having needed to use this facility.