Tenerife Fire Reaches 14,878 Hectares Burned

The forest fire raging in Tenerife has already reached 14,878 hectares (ha) of burned land, which is almost half of the forest mass and 7.3% of the total area of the island.

RELATED:
Tenerife Wildfire Continues to Spread Out of Control

Authorities maintain the forecast that the fire will be controlled in days. The stabilization of Izaña in the vicinity of the Teide National Park set as a goal for this day has been achieved. 

In the area of Mal Abrigo a "positive evolution" of the fire is reported. According to the Minister of Territorial Policy of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, this front "is still open, and we must continue working hard to stabilize it."

Miranda pointed out the difficult conditions in the extinction work, with more heat and changing light wind. He added that they will continue "facing the two fronts of Güímar and Fasnia and the one of Izaña. Tomorrow we will try to keep the evolution of the fire under control. It will not be easy to control the fire, and it will take time to extinguish it, but we hope to control it in a few days."

The tweet reads, "Information on the security arrangements deployed in the fire. 13,019 people have been evacuated. 11 municipalities affected by the evacuations. The Civil Guard has assigned between 220 and 270 troops. Images of Tenerife firefighters today in Izaña."

At the moment there is a total of 381 troops in intervention, 167 of them of urban character for the northern slope, 100 security troops and 20 aerial means of intervention and two of coordination.

According to the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, the fire has burned almost half of the forest mass of the island. Dávila pointed out that there are people who have been able to return to their homes this day as part of the evacuations decreed by the General Directorate of Emergencies of the Canary Islands Government. These are citizens of Arafo and Preventorio, in El Rosario, who were among the first to be evacuated.

The fire in Tenerife started last Tuesday, August 15. The flames have forced the evacuation of about 13,000 people from inhabited areas. The authorities warn that the air quality is very unfavorable due to the dense smoke. They recommend, especially in the most affected municipalities, the use of FFP2 masks, as well as the restriction of outdoor activities.

The Security Forces have highlighted this Monday the coordination they have maintained during these six days of fire, as well as citizen collaboration in the evictions. This has allowed to fulfill the main objective of the emergency mechanism, to guarantee the life of the people.

The President, Pedro Sánchez, has moved this day to the island and has valued the collaboration and coordination of all the Administrations to face this emergency. Sánchez has announced that the Council of Ministers will approve as soon as the fire is under control the declaration of an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, known as a "catastrophic area."

Data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (Miteco) indicate that between January 1 and August 13, 65,127.46 hectares have burned in Spain.