Wild Fire in Tenerife

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

The wind changes make it difficult to extinguish the fire during the night and the surface reaches 2,000 hectares.

The Minister of Public Administrations, Justice and Security, Julio Pérez, announced at a press conference that the wind changes during the night have made it difficult to extinguish the fire and that the surface has increased to 2,000 hectares, with an approximate perimeter of 20 kilometers. The fire has not entered the Valley of La Orotava, but in the western area of Icod de los Vinos, so there are already four municipalities affected by the forest fire of Tenerife, along with Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla and La Guancha.

 

Julio Pérez said that during the day the ground and air operation over the area will be reinforced, with 170 troops and 12 air means, trusting that the calima does not hinder their exit, in addition to incorporating the urban firefighters, of the Tenerife Consortium, in populated nuclei in a preventive way.

For his part, the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, said that the situation worsened during the night with flames of great height, which forced to stop some planned actions since the safety of the interveners is a priority.

On the evolution of the fire during the day yesterday, the head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, explained that the fire continues to progress at ground level and its perimeter has grown both in the front and on the two flanks. Last night the fire did not reach the Valley of La Orotava, although this morning the flames exceeded the height of Tigaiga and were visible from Los Realejos. The advance is weak, but there are many ravines with vegetation.

In the advance of the downward wind, five people have been evicted from three isolated houses in Pista Lolita, in Icod el Alto, in the municipality of Los Realejos. At the moment no more evacuations are foreseen, although a device has been prepared in the area of El Andén, Icod el Alto, in case it is necessary and the beds available in the pavilion of San Juan de la Rambla have been expanded.
As a preventive measure, the TF-21 road has been cut, from kilometer 16 to 32, from the access to La Caldera to the Portillo crossing and all accesses to the mountains of Tenerife, camping and recreational areas are closed.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Radio Sintonia:

The extinction works are focused today on the slope of Tigaiga to prevent it from affecting the Valley of La Orotava.

The works of extinguishing the fire of Tenerife are focused today on the slope of Tigaiga to prevent it from affecting the Valley of La Orotava. In this sense, the president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, attended this morning the technical coordination meeting of the extinction of the forest fire in the north of Tenerife, held at the Security and Emergency Coordination Center 1-1-2 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and where the situation of the emergency that began on Thursday and that today affects the municipalities of Los Realejos was announced, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha and Icod de los Vinos. Torres was accompanied by the Minister of Public Administrations, Justice and Security, Julio Pérez, the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín and the technical heads of extinction.



In the press conference after that call, Torres transferred the advances in the extinction of the fire, although he insisted on being cautious about the evolution of the fire. He also pointed out that the worst flank is that of the slope of Tigaiga, in the area of Chanajiga (Los Realejos), and appealed to the Canarian population "because the alert for forest fires will remain until this Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to drop."

According to the president of the Canary Islands, the main concern is focused on the slope of Tigaiga due to the impossibility of accessing the terrestrial means there as it is a very steep area. In that area, the action from the air will be intensified with water discharges.

The president stressed that the best ally for extinction remains the absence of strong winds. In fact, during the last night, there were average speeds of 10 to 15 kilometers per hour. In addition, humidity ranged between 50 and 60%, although this variable will fall during the daytime.

Torres made a repeated call for citizen awareness in all the Islands because temperatures will not improve until this Wednesday and the alert for fire risks will continue.

584 people Evacuated

According to official data, there are 584 people evacuated preventively and this figure is not expected to increase. He also indicated that the two spaces enabled for lodging have not been used by the evicted people, as they relocate to the homes of family, friends or hotels. A collaboration has been activated with the Official College of Veterinarians and pets and other animals are being taken and treated in safe spaces.

Torres urged caution to the population, not to approach the area of the fire and to access information about the fire through official channels, "moving away from fake news." In this regard, he recalled that the 1-1-2 reports constantly and truthfully about the emergency.

The president of the Canary Islands summed up his speech with that "the forecast is not bad: each night has been better than the previous one, but we must ask for maximum caution. Our great ally is the absence of strong gusts of wind and the great work of the air and ground troops."

For his part, the president of the Cabildo thanked the population of Las Llanadas for their exemplary behavior with the security forces and the Spanish Red Cross at the time of the evacuation. He also highlighted the operation launched with the College of Veterinarians to attend to the animals of those nuclei.

Media

At the moment there are 13 aerial means, including the two seaplanes (FOCAS), of which 12 pour water and one performs aerial coordination work. The ground device of 170 direct combatants and several dozen more is maintained, up to approximately 250, at some times, in security, logistical, coordination and direction and control services. In addition, there will be the incorporation tomorrow of 40 troops from the UME of Seville for the relays.

For her part, the technical director and head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, reported that during the night there have been no more evictions or evacuations and as for the evolution of the fire, she indicated that the western flank as well as the southern flank, by La Fortaleza is slow. The new hectares of the fire correspond to its advance to the east, the Chanajiga area, which is the most complicated for access with terrestrial means.

The director of extinction, Pedro Martínez, reported that, although the perimeter is not cold, the fire has not evolved through the lower part of the municipalities of Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla and La Guancha. In the upper part, the area closest to Mount Teide continues to perimeter, slowly, but encircling the fire.

Extinction works today Sunday focus on the slope of Tigaiga to prevent it from affecting the Valley of La Orotava

The works of extinction of the fire of Tenerife focus today on the slope of Tigaiga to prevent it from affecting the Valley of La Orotava

The extinction works today will focus on attacking intensely on the cliff in the direction of the Valley of La Orotava and the technicians warn the population that from that municipality the flames will be more visible in the high areas, which does not mean that it will get worse.
Finally, the authorities recalled that the situation of Pre-alert by Calima in the area of the fire and eastern islands is maintained; Pre-alert for maximum temperatures throughout the Canary Islands and with alert situation for the island of Gran Canaria and with this situation the Government of the Canary Islands maintains the Alert for Risk of Forest Fires of the INFOCA Plan all weekend and the next few days.

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