‘The fire damaged the landscape, not our community spirit’: Almería’s response to the Los Gallardos wildfires

Following the devastating fires that struck Almería at the weekend, Sharon Garner from Spanish Property Choice spoke to Euro Weekly News to share her experience, and express her utmost pride in a community that shone during the region’s darkest times. Instead of focusing on the negative, Sharon took this opportunity to spotlight the emergency services, charity volunteers, and all who donated.

“The fire may have damaged the landscape,” Sharon said, “but it hasn’t damaged the spirit of our community”.

As the firefighters worked on the front line, residents banded together to organise relief efforts. Social media became a tool for good, allowing local governments and law enforcement to communicate with residents and charities to organise donations.

During the chaos, Sharon and the Spanish Property Choice team used their sizeable online platforms to regularly update the wider English-speaking community, offering knowledge in a time of uncertainty. Mis-information can spread just as quickly, and can be just as dangerous as any fire. As such, Sharon and her team made a conscious effort to only share verified information from official sources, accuracy rightfully taking priority over immediacy.

While the consequences of the fire have been devastating, the response from the local community has been nothing short of inspiring. Charities were quickly overwhelmed with donations as people were quick to offer anything they could: food, water, clothes. Indalo Transport kindly donated 1,000 boxes to transport donations, and an additional 1,000 blankets. Many people even opened their homes to complete strangers, offering a safe place to stay to some of those who were evacuated.

Sharon Garner tells Euro Weekly News that she received inquiries from people across Europe, all asking how they could help from afar. Many rushed online, filling their virtual shopping baskets with essential items and having them delivered to the makeshift evacuation centres. Others donated money directly to those affected, helping GoFundMe fundraisers reach, if not exceed their goal.

Animal shelters were not forgotten about either. As soon as the flames were extinguished, volunteers travelled back up to the scorched mountain to search for lost pets, leaving food and water along the way. Strangers took in strays and shared their photos online in the hopes of reuniting pets with families. And animal shelters received large donations of food, toys, blankets and beds to accommodate the new arrivals.

The donations were so great, that it became difficult to organise. There was no time to take a step-back and properly assess what was needed, where it was needed the most, and how exactly to reach those most in need.

“Personally, I believe donations are best channelled through recognised authorities or registered charities because that gives donors confidence and transparency,” Sharon told Euro Weekly News.

While in the future, a single, designated place may need to be agreed upon early, residents should feel immense pride in that the issue was an overflow of generosity, not a lack of it.

Sadly, this will not be the last fire Andalucía sees. Every summer is hotter and dryer than the last. There is little we can do to avoid this. But there is more we can do to prepare. Once families have had time to grieve, a real conversation needs to be had on how to avoid such a tragedy from ever happening to this magnitude again.

Spain has a thriving community of international residents, especially in provinces like Almería. It is not unreasonable to except local governments to make life-saving information accessible to all who call Spain their home.

In addition to continuing to work closely with local charities and animal rescue organisations, Sharon has also expressed her intent to be a vocal advocate for more effective and inclusive fire-safety measures.

But in the meantime, Sharon wishes to thank the emergency services who ran towards danger, the volunteers who worked tirelessly, the generous people who donated without asking for recognition and the members of her team whose only concern was how they could help.