SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 23. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The forest fire declared last Thursday in Tenerife, which affects the municipalities of Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha and Icod de los Vinos, has worsened overnight with progress on the different fronts and the area affected is already around the 2,000 hectares, with a perimeter of about 20 kilometers and different active points.
This has been reported by the Minister of Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Julio Pérez, who has appeared at a press conference together with the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín; the head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, and the spokesperson for the Forestry Brigade (BRIFOR), Pedro Martínez.
The Minister has indicated that during the night the situation has been “worse than we wanted and expected, especially because of the weather, which has been less favorable than we had anticipated and wanted”, which has produced “an increase of the affected surface.
Julio Pérez pointed out that in the last hours the weather has been “difficult”, especially due to the wind, which has been “very variable and with greater intensity than expected”, reaching flames of up to 60 meters in height in the area of La Fortaleza, which makes the extinction work “more difficult”.
This fact, he pointed out, has contributed to the fact that the fire has exceeded the border of Tigaiga, located to the west of the Valle de La Orotava, making the flames and smoke “very visible” from Los Realejos, hence they have been registered many calls from neighbors demanding information.
At the same time, the intensity of the fire and the temperature on other fire fronts have increased, making it necessary to reinforce surveillance in areas close to population centers. In fact, urban firefighters are being incorporated to control these areas.
Today, Saturday, two Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement (EIRIF) teams from El Hierro, as well as the seaplane from the Peninsula, which will arrive in Gando around 1:00 p.m. and could be operational on the ground around 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. However, the mist and haze are making it difficult for aerial means to leave and have even caused the La Guancha base to be inoperative for a few moments.
With regard to the logistics system, 50 more beds have been arranged for possible accommodation. In this sense, during the night three isolated houses had to be evacuated on the Lolita track, in Los Realejos, with five people affected. Although no more evacuations are planned, a device has been prepared together with the Civil Guard and the Los Realejos City Council in case it becomes necessary to evacuate the El Andén area, which could affect some 60 people. In addition, today the TF-21, which connects La Orotava with El Portillo, has been closed.
Regarding the weather forecast for today, Julio Pérez advanced that it is possible that the weather conditions will improve this afternoon-night, but he warned that the variability of the wind will remain during the next 10-14 hours.
THE FIRE REACHES ICOD DE LOS VINOS.
For her part, the head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, explained that the fire continues to progress on the ground and the perimeter has been expanded throughout its progress, both on the front and on the flanks, and already affects more than 1,700 hectares. She indicated that the fire has not affected the Valley of La Orotava, but it has moved west, affecting the municipality of Icod de los Vinos.
In this regard, Montserrat Román commented that, although the advance of the fire is weak in this area, there are many ravines with combustion, which is why maneuvers are already being carried out to counteract this advance by the UME and aerial means.
Although the temperature and humidity today will be favorable, the head of the Civil Protection service explained that there will be a northerly component wind, with gusts of between 15 and 30 km/h; a northeasterly component wind, which pushes the fire westward, and a southeasterly wind in high areas, which favors a downward wind.
Today, a total of 170 firefighting personnel and 12 aerial means will be deployed, which will be distributed throughout the perimeter of the fire in order to keep the fire moving along the entire front.
Finally, the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Pedro Martín, reported that today he will hold a coordination meeting with the mayors of the island due to the permanent demand for information by citizens and so that they are vigilant in the closest areas. to urban centers, especially rural settlements.
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