At 12:00 it will be assessed to lift the confinement in El Rosario
Work is underway to consolidate the fire in the La Esperanza area
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Aug. 18 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The forest fire that started on the night of August 15 on Mount Arafo, on the island of Tenerife, has begun to behave more normally, unlike the last few nights when weather conditions prevented resources from working with normality due to the “unusual” behavior of the flames.
However, the fire continues out of control after having affected an area of 3,797 hectares in a perimeter of more than 41.9 kilometers that covers the municipalities of Arafo, Candelaria, El Rosario, La Orotava, Santa Úrsula, La Victoria, El Sauzal, Tacoronte and La Matanza, affecting the forest mass (pine forest), mostly on the La Esperanza mountain and the forest crown.
By municipalities, in Candelaria 1,154 hectares are affected, in Arafo 1,435; in El Rosario 505, in La Orotava 299, in Santa Úrsula 162, in La Victoria 183, in El Sauzal 39; in Tacoronte 12 hectares; and in La Matanza four hectares.
This was revealed this Friday during the press conference at 10:00 a.m. to update the information on the evolution of the fire.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, explained that last night the fire behaved normally, compared to other nights, when there was “quite unusual” behavior due to the wind and weather conditions.
This relative improvement in conditions has meant that the resources have been able to work more intensively and to do so normally.
CONSOLIDATE THE FIRE IN THE PART OF LA ESPERANZA
For its part, the decision has been made to concentrate the work to consolidate the fire in the part of La Esperanza. “The idea is that this space can be consolidated during the day, which would allow resources to be diverted to the north,” Clavijo said.
As for the northern slope of the fire, during the night the fire has been going down “very slowly.” “It has not been an aggressive advance,” the president commented, “and it has allowed resources to be deployed to establish containment lines.”
ASSESSMENT ON LIFTING THE CONFINEMENT
All this situation will mean that at 12:00 noon an assessment will be made on the possibility of lifting the confinement in the urban area of El Rosario.
Regarding air quality, the use of masks is recommended and that all sensitive people take measures and do not go out.
In the last hours there have been no new evictions of residents, so there are still more than 3,000 people evacuated and 3,820 remain confined from the nucleus of La Esperanza, in El Rosario, according to the census.
To serve the displaced population, shelters have been set up in El Rosario, La Orotava, Candelaria, El Sauzal and La Matanza, where there are more than a hundred neighbors and some pets.
BREAK IN THE AGUAMANSA CHANNEL
The president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, has indicated that there was a break in the Aguamansa canal that feeds the north canal and that it is in the area of the fire.
Here, he made special emphasis that for the moment there would not be a problem of lack of supply and that he will try to repair the break.
