After a relatively calm night, improving weather conditions in northern Tenerife Yesterday they 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, thanks to the good weather conditions that are expected, to try to perimeter and control a fire that has already destroyed more than 800 hectares of mountain, although it remains far from populated areas.
The balance of the day is contradictory, as acknowledged by the regional Security Councilor, Julio Pérez (PSOE), since he 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 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 environment.
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 concerned about the houses and luckily none were at risk.” He also valued the performance of the personnel on the ground at night: “The firewalls that those in charge of the device on the ground have been preparing have helped a lot to prevent the fire from spreading too much or approaching populated areas.” The mayor of La Guancha, Antonio Hernández (PP), who is outside 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. This 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 the most complicated access. .
More media.
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. .
Prohibited access to mountain areas
As the island president, Pedro Martín (PSOE) had advanced, the Cabildo of Tenerife decided yesterday afternoon to extend the prohibition of access to mountain areas to the entire island after decreeing the maximum level of precaution. The recreational and camping areas will remain closed and sports and leisure activities will be suspended while the resolution of the Government of the Canary Islands remains in force due to the fire and the forecast of high temperatures. Since yesterday, access to public forests in the area of the Corona Forestal Natural Park in La Orotava, Los Realejos, San Juan de La Rambla, La Guancha and Icod was prohibited. Now that prohibition affects the 31 municipalities of the island. Access, both on foot and by any other means, to the mountains is prohibited. While this insular resolution is active, the use of fireworks and machinery that can produce sparks, as well as hunting, barbecues and bonfires, is also prohibited. Accesses to Anaga from Casa Domingo will also be closed, except for neighbors, and to Mesa Mota.
