Madrid wildfire leaves residents reeling after frantic evacuations

Ecologio Cabrera, 86, struggled to comprehend the speed of the wildfire that forced him to flee his village west of the Spanish capital.

"If you don't run from it and you try to face it, it devours you," he told AFP in a sports hall in the village of Vilamanta, where hundreds of evacuees have sought refuge.

The wildfire, fueled by high temperatures, dry vegetation and strong winds, has forced thousands of people from their homes in communities west of Madrid, leaving residents uncertain whether they will have anything to return to.

Cabrera recalled firefighters racing through his neighborhood in Aldea del Fresno where he has lived for nearly three decades, ordering everyone to leave immediately.

The family fought to save their home by spraying it continuously with garden hoses until firefighters appeared, he said.

"They arrived and told everybody to get out," he said. Nobody had time to take anything with them. "I have never experienced anything like this."

More than the flames, Cabrera said, he feared the thick smoke engulfing the area.

He is also worried about his daughter, who lives in a neighboring community also hit by the fire.

Around him, dozens of evacuees settled into the municipal sports hall in Vilamanta, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from his home.

Families slept on inflatable mattresses or dozed on chairs. Most fled with just the clothes they were wearing.

- 'Devastating' -

Among them was Mercedes García, a 69-year-old homemaker who uses a walking frame.

Police and Civil Guards got her away from her home Thursday evening.

She spent the night on an inflatable pool mattress while her husband slept in a chair nearby.

"What happened here is devastating," she said, visibly shaken.

Local councilor Felix Hernández said all of Aldea del Fresno's 3,500 residents had been evacuated.

"I'm 53 years old and I've seen major wildfires before, but never anything this big," he said.

At least 19,000 people in the Madrid region have been evacuated or ordered to remain indoors due to the wildfires that authorities say are the worst the region has known.

Around 100 people have been treated for smoke inhalation, anxiety attacks and other minor illnesses, while dozens of homes have been destroyed.

- 'Heartbreaking' -

At nearby Villa del Prado, residents remained confined indoors as firefighters battled to prevent the blaze from spreading further.

When 67-year-old Mariano Gonzalez stepped outside Friday morning to walk his dog, the smoke was so thick it resembled dense fog.

"Everywhere I look -- up, down, behind me, in front of me -- everything is black," he told AFP by telephone.

"The tears come, but not just for me -- for everyone," he added, describing the "devastation" surrounding his village

Across from his home, he said, a grove of century-old olive trees had burned to the ground, while nearby pines were reduced to charred trunks.

"It's heartbreaking," he said, his voice breaking.