Life on the edge of the flames in Torre Baró: "They don't clean the mountain here"

BarcelonaThe neighborhoods of Barcelona that climb the Collserola mountain range are trying to return to normal after a night of uncertainty due to the fire declared on Tuesday. In Torre Baró, neighbors curiously approach the edge where the city turns into forest to see the consequences. A column of smoke warns that the fire is still active and the smell of ash still permeates everything, even though the firefighters have stabilized it hours ago and continue to wet the ground with aerial means to finish the job. In the evening, the firefighters declared the fire controlled. There are 54 hectares burnt.

On Lliçà and Castellví streets, on the border with the forest area, is where the worst moments of the fire were experienced. The flames were close to the houses and about thirty residents had to be evacuated as a precaution. Jesús assures that it seemed like the fire was inside the house when the Guardia Urbana evicted them. "The house was full of smoke, in fact it still smells burnt and we've been ventilating," he says.

He is one of the 35 residents who were evacuated because they live next to the forest. This Wednesday morning he went to see the burnt area with his children, Lucía and Marc, who explain that they had a very bad time because they thought their house would burn down. "Smoke kept coming out and I was very scared. I was crying the whole time," explains the older sister, 9 years old, without letting go of her father's hand at any moment.

The little one confesses that it hasn't been an easy night and that he has also cried a little, but he assures that he is now calmer. "I saw very big pieces of ash," he says proudly before running off to inform his mother that they are being interviewed. Jesús, who has been a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, had already experienced other fires near his home, says he was calm and dedicated himself to reassuring them while the firefighters worked to put out the fire. "Once the whole mountain burned down, I've seen it: you have to trust the firefighters."

The one who wasn't so calm was Rosario, a neighbor who was also evacuated and who assures that she hasn't been able to sleep all night due to nerves. Not even with medication to fall asleep. Like the rest of the evacuated people with whom ARA has spoken, Rosario preferred to go to a neighbor's house instead of the pavilion set up by the City Council. She took refuge at her partner Cristian's grandmother's house, from where they could see an "orange wall" above the forest that raised the temperatures as if they were "at 40 degrees".

Once the firefighters guaranteed the safety of the houses, around 11 p.m., the evacuated residents were able to return progressively, although they were warned that if it worsened, they had to be ready to leave again at any moment. "If they called us at midnight, we had to run out. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary and we were able to stay home," explains this neighbor, who also went to the border where the forest begins to see the impact of the fire before going to work.

Evacuated at 94 years old

However, not everyone took advantage of the morning to be nosy and see how the forest looked after the fire. This is the case of Mateo, who went to see how his grandmother was, another of the neighbors who were evacuated. She is 94 years old and lives practically in the farthest house in the neighborhood, almost where the forest begins. Her grandson explains that she was very worried because the fire was just behind her house and she suffered for fear that the flames might reach it. The family went to her aid and took her to a safe place until the emergency services gave the green light for everyone to return.

This morning Mateo went to see her, but he hasn't managed to get in yet. He says she's sleeping very soundly and after such a restless night, her grandmother seems exhausted and is still asleep. "She always says she's doing so well at 94 because she's climbed a lot of stairs. She's from the neighbourhood her whole life," says Mateo, laughing before going to get a set of keys he has at his house.

Although it only turned out to be a scare, this resident of Torre Baró admits that they are increasingly worried about how close they are to the forest, "now that there are so many fires". In fact, it's a widespread feeling among many of the neighbours he has spoken to this newspaper about following this week's fire. "We all have the same feeling: you don't see the forest being cleaned or cleared, we don't feel like the mountain is being looked after," laments Mateo.

Jesús complains along the same lines: "There's a problem here: they don't clean the mountain and then what happens, happens". And he adds: "Besides, now it's forbidden to collect firewood from the mountain; before, we neighbours used to collect it to heat ourselves in winter, but now it all dries up there. Before, a neighbour had hundreds of goats and the mountain had paths everywhere, natural firebreaks made by the animals themselves. Now not even that, the mountain is neglected".

The deputy mayor and councilor for Ciutat Vella, Albert Batlle, has insisted on “exercising extreme” caution in the face of any action that could affect “this very delicate environment”. He recalled that Collserola has registered “two serious incidents” in recent weeks, referring to the fire that burned in the Sant Pere Màrtir area. Batlle stressed that “it is still August” and reiterated “avoiding any risk situation”. On the other hand, the president of the Torre Baró Neighbors Association, Valeria Ortiz, maintains that they have been reporting the poor condition of the forest near these mountain neighborhoods of Barcelona for four years, but regrets that they have not been listened to until now.

En Jesús assures that on Tuesday the Firefighters had to wait for the fire to advance in order to extinguish it, because there were no paths to access it. They could not enter the forest. "As a child, I used to roam these mountains and we used to play here, in the forest, but now that is impossible," says Jesús in front of a crowd of blackened trees. "They have to do something," he repeats.