Forest fires | The Tenerife fire burns more than 800 hectares and already reaches the Teide National Park

San Juan de la Rambla is the municipality “most affected” by the fire, as reported by the Security Councilor of the Government of the Canary Islands, Julio Pérez

The forest fire that started on Thursday in the Los Campeches areain the municipality of Los Realejos, in Tenerife, It still does not affect population centers but it has increased its extension and is located on the limits of the Teide National Park.

After a relatively quiet night, the improvement in weather conditions in the north of Tenerife yesterday invited optimism. The sea of ​​clouds collaborated with the extinguishing services, kept the perimeter of the fire away from populated areas and without great progress. However, a change in the wind that occurred at 4:15 p.m. set off the alarms and redirected the flames towards the Teide National Park and the Orotava Valley. The fire entered the park through the area of ​​La Fortaleza and returned to Los Realejos, which threatens the Valley. A significant drop in temperatures was expected overnight. Today’s session will be key for, thanks to the good weather conditions that are expected, trying to perimeter and control a fire that It has already destroyed more than 800 hectares of forest, although it remains far from populated areas.

The balance of the day is contradictory, as recognized by the regional Security Councilor, Julio Pérez (PSOE), since it has stayed away from populated areas, but has continued to devastate mountain areas and has reached the National Park, where we e hopes that you can go too far inside. For the island president, Pedro Martín (PSOE), the objectives of keeping him away from populated areas, stopping his advance to Icod and preventing his arrival in La Orotava have been met. However, it has not been possible to prevent it from going up the San Juan ravine towards Mount Teide.

Sea of ​​clouds

Yesterday’s day was marked by increased cloud cover and lower temperatures, although with large differences between the area above the sea of ​​clouds and below. There were times of the day when in the summit area, where the fire was still active, temperatures around 32 degrees were recorded. A few hundred meters below, in the mist, the thermometer showed up to 18 degrees. This humidity has been beneficial for weakening the fire for much of the day, but it has also made it difficult for the aerial media to work. Despite the cloudiness, the helicopters have continued to refuel on the helipad of the La Guancha hull.

Affected surface

In the first eight hours, the fire affected about 110 hectares. Between 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and 9:00 a.m. on Friday, it had spread over some 390 more hectares, especially towards the forest crown and to the west, through the La Guancha mountain. During yesterday the burned perimeter continued to grow towards La Guancha and also towards the Valle de La Orotava and the Teide National Park. Heading north toward the coast, it remained contained. The change of wind in the afternoon diverted the fire again in the direction of Los Realejos and entered the Teide National Park through La Fortaleza. The latest data offered at 9:00 p.m. yesterday raises that figure to more than 800 hectares affected. 410 more hectares in just 12 hours. The head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Care service, Montserrat Ramos, acknowledged that when the calculation is finalized, it is likely that it will reach a thousand hectares.

Tension in El Andén

Despite the fact that the night from Thursday to Friday passed with a certain calm, at dawn there were moments of tension due to the proximity of the fire to the houses of El Andén. The mayor of Los Realejos, Adolfo González (PP), explained that “around five in the morning there was a complicated situation next to the houses of El Andén, but finally it was possible to control it and no new eviction was necessary.” The intervention of the firemen allowed to keep the flames away from the houses. After the voluntary eviction of some thirty neighbors on Thursday afternoon, during the night some more families preferred to go to the houses of relatives and friends to get away from the fire. Neighbors in the area also removed pets and farm animals. The Brifor Advanced Command Post and numerous troops, also from the Tenerife Fire Brigade Consortium, who ensure the protection of homes, are located in this area.

The night

The mayor of San Juan de la Rambla, Ezequiel Domínguez (PSOE), lived a relatively quiet night “thanks to the fact that the wind did not blow and that has allowed the fire to remain relatively stable in the municipality. I was very worried about the houses and, fortunately, none were at risk”. He also valued the actions of the ground staff at night: “The backfires that were prepared by those in charge of the device on the ground have helped a lot to prevent the fire from spreading too much. nor go near populated areas. The mayor of La Guancha, Antonio Hernández (PP), who is away from the island, although “permanently connected”, said that the night was calm: “The fire moved away towards Teide and that gave more distance with respect to our populated nuclei”. In the first hours there was some concern in the local government for areas such as El Pinalete and El Farrobo, but the flames have moved far from those populated areas.

thermal drones

At night, work was carried out with the new drones of the Cabildo de Tenerife equipped with thermal cameras that allowed the work to be directed towards the hottest areas of the fire. That served to mark in a more precise way the work of the aerial means, which yesterday made an effort throughout the day to try to contain the flames in the upper area of ​​the San Juan ravine, the place with the most active flames and most complicated access. .

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During the morning several members of the forestry brigade arrived from La Palma joined the operation. The Cabildo de Gran Canaria, at the request of the Cabildo de Tenerife, announced the dispatch of a total of 22 troops to collaborate in the extinction tasks. The device will be made up of some 20 troops accompanied by a fire engine and other vehicles, as well as an analyst technician, a helicopter technician, an operations technician, an emergency technical director, two environmental agents and a technician from the Operational Coordination Center Island (Cecopin). This morning they will board for Tenerife and join one of the two fire-fighting helicopters of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, which took off for Tenerife yesterday afternoon with a technician from the Helicopter Unit and a forest fire analyst. The president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, expressed his solidarity with Tenerife and the affected municipalities, and expressed his wish that the fire be controlled as soon as possible. Troops will also come from La Gomera and a seaplane is expected to arrive from the peninsula this afternoon.

Conato in El Tanque

One of the most tense moments of the day occurred at 1:55 p.m., when the existence of an attempt was reported in the municipality of El Tanque, specifically in the surroundings of the Los Partidos de Franquis rural hotel. It affected about 6 hectares of a scrub area. The rapid intervention of a helicopter, Brifor and the Santiago Fire Department prevented the flames from reaching the nearby forest mass. The mayor of El Tanque, Esther Morales (PSOE), stressed that the immediate reaction prevented the outbreak from escalating in an area located several kilometers from the Los Campeches fire front. The fire was considered perimeter around 4:30 p.m. and a checkpoint remained in the area to prevent it from rekindling.

Visit from Irene Montero

After chairing the Equality Sectorial Conference in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Minister for Equality, Irene Montero, and the Secretary of State for Equality, Ángela Rodríguez, traveled to the area affected by the fire to show, with a brief visit, their “Deep acknowledgment and gratitude” to the emergency, prevention and firefighting services that work in Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla and La Guancha. Both also wanted to express “all the solidarity and affection” of the Government of Spain “towards the neighbors of the island”, as well as their empathy in the moments of “sadness and anguish” suffered by the residents of the areas closest to the fire .