The forest fire that originated in the area of Los Campeches (Los Realejos) and that has affected four municipalities in the north of Tenerife for eight days, has finally been controlled. After burning more than 2,750 hectares between pine forests, scrubland and agricultural farms within a perimeter of 34 kilometers, and keeping the entire Canary Islands on edge during the last week while hundreds of troops fought against the flames from the air and from the ground , the “fire has been controlled”, as confirmed yesterday by the president of the Council of Tenerifethe socialist Pedro Martin.
Martin assured that «The situation during the night from Thursday to Friday was very favorable, with a notable drop in temperatures and an increase in humidity, which added to the great work of the extinguishing teams has allowed us to finally consider this fire under control ». The president of the Insular Corporation stressed, however, that “it is likely that small reactivations will occur again that force us to intervene, but that is within normal.” In the same way, Martín thanked “the effort and excellent coordination, both of the forestry brigades, and of all the national and regional teams that have participated in the extinction work.”
For her part, the Island Councilor for Management of the Natural Environment and Security, Isabel García, emphasized the great work carried out by the directors of extinction, the environmental agents and the forestry brigades of the Cabildo. “Many times the aerial means are very spectacular, but we must highlight the work of the ground teams, which are the ones that open the ditches, those that carry out the controlled burns and those that are in front of the flames. I think that the people of Tenerife can feel proud of having a team like the one we have in this Cabildo”, highlighted the counselor.
“Spectacular work”
Isabel García also valued «the effort of the rest of the members of the security forces and bodies, civil protection, the Red Cross and the volunteers, because the work has been spectacular, with a differentiated coordination with respect to other fires that I have experienced». He also valued the work that has been done with the use of new technologies, such as drones, to help in the tasks performed by ground teams.
The head of the Forest Management service, Pedro Martínez, recalled that “the hardest moment occurred on the night of the second to the third day, when the wind completely changed direction and caused the fire to advance towards the Valley of La Orotava, crossing barriers with flames up to 60 meters.
From that day on, ground and air teams managed to contain the affected area, which finally reached 2,753 hectares and 34 kilometers of perimeter, and that has affected four municipalities on the island: Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha and Icod de los Vinos. “Now we have to keep watching, because these days smoke will continue to come out, and begin to assess the damage, not only environmental but also to infrastructure,” he concluded.
cooling work
Throughout yesterday, the land resources of the forestry brigades continued working in the area to continue cooling and monitoring, with special emphasis on the slope of Tigaiga, in the municipality of Los Realejos. To these ground teams were added the two helicopters of the Cabildo.
With regard to access to forest areas, the Cabildo does not rule out taking preventive measures on the use of the mountains given the forecast of rising temperatures for this weekend. As for the origin of the fire, the president of the Cabildo indicated that the investigations began “a couple of days” and “there are indications that could suggest that it is caused”, although he has indicated that they are waiting for what they are told .
In this sense, Martín has clarified that “It is not the first time that they occur in the area, two weeks ago there was an attempt”, for which he has requested the collaboration of citizens so that “they warn of anyone they see in the mountains and who might be thought to cause a fire”, since in this case he has stated that “there are few reasons for it to be purely fortuitous” . Finally, given the heat wave that is expected to affect the Canary Islands again at the end of the week, it has been pointed out that they “do not” rule out taking preventive measures.
On the other hand, the plenary session of the Island Corporation yesterday approved an institutional motion to show its support and solidarity with all the municipalities and people affected by the fire, as well as to recognize the work of all the bodies of all the public administrations that have worked and they work in firefighting operations, especially those who have actively participated in firefighting.
Institutional recognition
The document also collects the recognition of the great work carried out by the rest of the members of the security forces and bodies, civil protection, Red Cross and other volunteers. In the same way, it has been agreed to support the requests that the municipalities affected by the forest fire submit to the Government of Spain and it is urged to declare the affected surface as a catastrophic area.
