The first residents return to their homes following the fire in Las Hurdes: 'Everything’s burnt - it’s heartbreaking'

The charred skeletons of the pine trees bear witness to a catastrophe that has kept local residents evacuated for several days, seeking refuge from the flames that came perilously close to destroying this hamlet, home to no more than 15 people throughout the year.

Most of its residents have now returned following the evacuation. Those from Robledo and Castillo have also been able to return, but the scene there is not quite as desolate as that of the completely burnt-out valley surrounding Avellanar. The village now looks like a town encircled by ash, and the sound is one of silence broken only by the meowing of a few cats still hiding after several nights spent under threat from the flames.

One of them is Leonor Sánchez, the first resident of Avellanar to return to the farmstead where she was born and spends every summer. With tears in her eyes, she gazes at her house, overcome with emotion. “It’s been saved. We had to flee with just the clothes on our backs, and I didn’t know what I’d find. I was so afraid the fire had got inside," she said. "Oh my God, everything’s burnt; the flames stopped right there," she said, pointing less than a metre away to indicate the spot where the fire was halted.

In fact, the flames have reached two houses where families were living and another under construction. Several livestock pens have also been burnt to the ground. “It’s such a shame to see it like this; everything’s ruined,” said Leonor. “It burnt down just like this 23 years ago. It won’t let us get back on our feet; this is a nightmare,” she added, recalling that they went through the same nightmare back in 2003, when another fire in the area ravaged more than 6,000 hectares.

“It’s all burnt down – it’s heartbreaking. This is the second time I’ve seen it like this, but you never get used to it. I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I couldn’t hold it in and I just burst into tears,” explained 85-year-old Silvano Alonso, as he pointed to where his vegetable patch used to be. Now there’s nothing left.

Nor have the 22 chestnut trees and 52 fruit trees belonging to Óscar Matías, who has lived in Avellanar for seven years, survived. “There are people who have lost farms covering more than two hectares,” he said, as he remembered the afternoon of the evacuation. “They arrived at half past three, banged on the door and told us to leave because there was a fire. We had to get out quickly because there’s only one way out of here,” he said, referring to the only road connecting them to Pinofranqueado. “Now we’ve come back and found this disaster. There’s no recovering from this. It’s so hard to see it like this. At least my house has been spared,” he added.

However, his neighbour’s house - whose owner has been unable to return - has burnt down. “He’d been living here for twelve years and now he’s lost everything,” explained Óscar. “It used to be all green, with a beautiful mountain. It was a privileged spot and now we have nothing left, just a disaster,” he concluded.