He fire in Tenerife For the moment, it has burned about 3,800 hectares in which, those that are forest, the Canarian pine predominates, a species “that survives” in case of fire, as explained to Europa Press by the Dean of the Official College of Forestry Engineers, Eduardo Rojas.
Thus, Rojas has detailed that this is a tree “extremely adapted to fire”, a characteristic that it probably adopted after a very active volcanic period. “More than adapting to the fire, it adapted to the abrasion effect of volcanic ash, which is the most distributed when there are fires,” he specified.
This circumstance was verified during the eruption of the volcano of The Palmwhich occurred in 2021, during which thousands of specimens of this endemic species were buried in ashes which, after the volcano’s inactivity, regrowth again, a fact that Rojas has described as a “prodigy of nature”.
4:19 p.m.
They lift the confinement order in the part furthest from the forest mass of the core of La Esperanza
The residents of the closest areas, some 1,671 people, will continue to be confined.
The Emergency Department of the INFOCA Plan has decided to lift the confinement order in the part furthest from the forest mass of the nucleus of La Esperanza, in the municipality of El Rosario (Tenerife). In this regard, the technical director of the emergency, Montse Román, has commented that of the total number of people confined –3,820–, 1,671 will continue in this situation. The confinement of the areas closest to the forest mass is maintained from Vista Castillo street to TF-24 and El Sino street heading west; as well as at the Las Raíces Migrant Emergency Center (San Cristóbal de La Laguna).
15:12
Clavijo, on his social networks, reports that he has received the call from the monarch and, in addition to being interested in the evolution of the fire, he has transmitted, according to the Canarian president, his support and encouragement “for all the personnel involved in the extinction, for who have had to be evacuated or confined and for the people of Tenerife and the Canary Islands”.
The Tenerife forest fire, which began on Tuesday in the municipality of Arafo, is active, affects an area of more than 3,700 hectares and has a perimeter of 41.9 kilometers across nine municipalities on the island.
15:12
King Felipe VI has called the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, to inquire about the evolution of the forest fire in Tenerife and express his support for those affected and the troops working to extinguish it.
2:02 p.m.
More than 200 soldiers and 46 media are fighting in Tenerife against the flames: “The advance to the west is worrying”
A total of 205 soldiers from the Military Emergency Unit (UME), 46 mediums and three seaplanes from the 43rd Group are fighting this Friday against the flames that originated on the night of August 15 on Mount Arafo (Tenerife), in a fire that has already calcined 3,797 hectares, as explained by the head of the II Emergency Intervention Battalion (UME), Lieutenant Colonel José Alberto Gallego López, during a videoconference held on August 18 with the acting Defense Minister, Margarita Robles .
In his meeting with the minister, Gallego explained that it is a particularly virulent fire, which is spreading in many directions. In addition, he has shown “concern” about the advance of the fire to the west of the island and having to confine the population, as well as that it revives in the east. At this time, there are more than 7,500 people evacuated and confined.
13:12
Health reinforces the health centers in the areas affected by the forest fire in Tenerife
The Primary Care Management of Tenerife, attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, has reinforced the provision of material and medication necessary to treat possible respiratory conditions in the sensitive population in the health centers of the municipalities affected by the fire forest declared last Wednesday in Tenerife.
Likewise, the Emergency point of the municipality of La Victoria de Acentejo has been reinforced with a doctor and a nurse, which also provides coverage to the nuclei of Santa Úrsula and La Matanza de Acentejo, in the north of the island, and will reinforce the Service Normal Emergency Department (SNU) of La Orotava during the weekend.
It is also contemplated to expand the supply of those emergency points that require it according to the needs of the affected population. Likewise, the templates for the central material warehouse and the provision of oxygen have been reviewed and activated in case its use were necessary.
12:29
Minister Héctor Gómez travels to the areas affected by the Tenerife fire and reaffirms the support of the Government in the extinction work
Acting Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Hector Gomez, has moved this Friday to the Advanced Command Post of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife forest fire, located in the municipality of Arafo. There he has been able to learn about the evolution of the forest fire in Tenerife and work in coordination with the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo de Tenerife and the different municipalities affected.
11:58
Changes the direction of the wind and could fuel outbreaks in the southern area
The fire that affects Tenerife since the early hours of Wednesday 16 keep going uncontrolled and touring the island without brakeyes. The firefighting teams are working overtime, which has caused the fire to slow down.
11:54
The night has been calm and it has not been necessary to carry out new evacuations due to the fire
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, stated that tonight the fire has behaved normally and that the conditions have allowed more intense work, not being necessary to carry out new evacuations. The work of the last few hours has focused on La Esperanza to consolidate that space and divert resources to the north. In this regard, he announced that at noon the situation will be assessed to decide whether to lift the confinement of the population of that nucleus of the municipality of El Rosario.
11:24
Problems in the water supply in the north of Tenerife
The Tenerife fire is advancing more slowly after its first night with normal behavior since the alert was given in Arafo and Candelaria. Despite this, it continues to cause various problems for the people of Tenerife.
11:21
The fire in Tenerife, out of control: there are already more than 3,700 hectares affected in nine municipalities
The fire that broke out during the early hours of Wednesday in the municipalities of Arafo and Candelaria continues uncontrolled, already affecting nine municipalities in Tenerife. Evacuations continue in the different municipalities for prevention reasons and the latest balance indicates that more than 7,000 people have been directly affected.
According to the latest data, the affected area amounts to more than 3,200 hectares in the municipalities of Arafo, Candelaria, Santa Úrsula, La Victoria de Acentejo, El Rosario, La Orotava, El Sauzal, Tacoronte and La Matanza. Likewise, the affected perimeter amounts to 41.9 kilometerswith areas of very difficult access in which emergency personnel cannot work for security reasons.
11:13
Lanzarote firefighters help in the Tenerife fire
For the past 36 non-stop hours, brave firefighters from Lanzarote have been tirelessly involved in the tasks of extinguishing the fire in the tenerife island. His commitment has manifested itself in work days that involved breaks inside the work trucks during this period of time.
10:52
A mix of natural events was captured on the Canary Islands this August 16 by the imaging spectroradiometer of Moderate Resolution (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra Satellite.
10:01
Cabildo de Fuerteventura moves a contingent to Tenerife to collaborate in the tasks against the fire
The Cabildo de Fuerteventura has sent a contingent to help with the extinguishing tasks of the fire declared in Arafo and Candelaria, which spreads through the north of Tenerife. The device is coordinated by the Island Corporation and has the participation of vehicles and professionals from all the services on the Island.
In a statement, the Cabildo explained that the operation was activated yesterday afternoon by the Canary Islands Government’s Emergency Directorate and has been traveling since Friday, August 18, with its scheduled arrival at 1:00 p.m. in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
09:55
Members of the UME work to extinguish the fire in Tenerife during the night of this Thursday, with direct attack missions with the support of fire trucks in the urban-forest interface, defending scattered buildings along the Pista del Rayo area and in Hope area.
09:24
The air resources resume the downloads against the fire in Tenerife after a night of work on the ground
The aerial means have resumed early this Friday the discharges of water against the forest fire that began on the night of August 15 in Mount Arafo, on the island of Tenerife, after a night of work on land.
Specifically, during the night 226 troops intervened in the extinction device supported by a hundred from the security device and 40 from logistics. 205 soldiers from the UME and 46 media working on the device, as reported by the Ministry of Defense.
Likewise, first thing in the morning, the 17 air resources have been incorporated, including those for coordination and 260 combatants on the ground.
08:58
The recommendations for worsening air quality in different municipalities are maintained
On 1-1-2 Canarias has announced that the recommendations to the population due to worsening air quality in the municipalities of Güímar, Arafo, Candelaria and El Rosario are maintained, due to the smoke caused by the forest fire in Tenerife.
The basic guidelines are as follows:
• Avoid staying outside and carrying out intense or prolonged physical activities.
• Close doors, windows, if you have air conditioning put it in recirculation mode and with clean filters.
• Outside, the use of an FFP2 mask is recommended to avoid respiratory problems and protect the eyes as much as possible, wash them if necessary.
08:17
The president of the Canary Islands and the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife will report on the evolution of the forest fire on the island
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, the President of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, and the Minister of Territorial Policy of the Government of the Canary Islands and Head of Emergencies, Manuel Miranda, will offer a press conference starting at 9:30 a.m., at the end of the coordination meeting, to report on the evolution of the forest fire declared in Tenerife.
Likewise, the dean has highlighted that, despite the fact that there are other species with regenerative characteristics -such as the Pináster pine or the Aleppo pine- these take about 30 years to regenerate, while the Canary Island pine does so in less time.
Besides, Rojas has called for the importance of containing the flames before the arrival of a Saharan wave, scheduled for this weekend, which would spread the fire.
In any case, Rojas specified that this fire “will have a visual and risky impact for people, but not for the native Canarian pine vegetation in the area.”
