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.
In the center of the scene, smoke is seen rising from a forest fire burning on the island. Tenerife. The fire started amid hot and dry conditions on August 15 in the forests surrounding the volcano. Teide. It has already devastated thousands of hectares and is considered the most difficult fire to extinguish on the island for 40 years.
To the west, a swirling cloud crosses the Atlantic. Cloud vortices routinely appear downwind of the Canary Islands, sometimes in great abundance, and occur when high volcanic peaks disrupt the air flow around them, reports the NASA Earth Observatory.
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.
07:54
Direct attack by the UME on the flank of La Esperanza
The UME has published on its official Twitter channel in which it explains that during the early hours of this Friday, direct attack missions have been carried out with the support of fire trucks in the urban-forest interface. The objective is to defend the scattered buildings along the Pista del Rayo area and in the La Esperanza area.
07:32
Vicky Palma, Meteorology advisor at the Cabildo de Tenerife: “The night has been calmer”
The Meteorology adviser at the Cabildo de Tenerife, Vicky Palma, in statements to the Cadena Ser program ‘Hoy por hoy’, pointed out this Friday that “the night has been quieter” within the current situation of the fire that has been plaguing the Island since last Wednesday. “We have to think that it is a large forest fire, that it has a perimeter of 41 kilometers and that we will have to wait for the first light of day to make the first assessments, after the first reconnaissance flight is carried out, if the column of smoke allows it”, commented.
08 17 2023 22:42
The air quality unit will move to the Arafo and Candelaria areas to control emissions and verify if the air continues to be optimal for people’s health.
08 17 2023 22:34
The latest balance on the fire indicates that 3,069 people have been evacuated and 3,820 confined
08 17 2023 22:17
One of the priorities during the night will be to control the evolution of the fire towards La Esperanza to prevent it from reaching the populated area. For their part, the evacuated locations are also being monitored.
08 17 2023 22:07
The Tenerife fire continues out of control. It already affects eight municipalities and more than 3,200 hectares are affected. Around 200 troops will continue working during the night and the air resources will return at 08:30 in the morning.
08 17 2023 20:27
The Fuerteventura Emergency Consortium has reported this Thursday that a crew of 14 firefighters and several vehicles from the island will travel to Tenerife to collaborate in the control and extinction tasks of the forest fire that broke out on Tuesday night on the island . The Majorero firefighters were activated during this day based on the Plan to Fight Forest Fires of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Infoca), and they will travel to Tenerife from this very Thursday, so they hope to be able to join the work during the day this Friday.
08 17 2023 19:33
New evictions. The Government of the Canary Islands has ordered the evacuation of various areas of the municipalities of El Sauzal and La Matanza.
In the municipality of El Sauzal, the eviction has been ordered from the neighborhoods of Baboseras Altas, Camino El Pozo, Lomo Piedra to Calderetas (from San Cristóbal street to the mountain) and La Vica; while in La Matanza, the neighborhoods of La Vica and El Pirul have been ordered to be evacuated.
The Government reports that evacuees can go to the La Perdoma pavilion, in the municipality of La Orotava.
08 17 2023 18:34
The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has transferred her support to the Canary Islands for the forest fire on the island of Tenerife, which affects more than 2,600 hectares in various municipalities, and has offered the means of the region to assist in its extinction. “I am following the evolution of the fire with great concern. All my support for the Canarian people and recognition of the extinguishing device that fights tirelessly against the flames. Madrid, at your disposal for whatever is needed”, he indicated through his social networks .
08 17 2023 18:33
The acting President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has expressed his solidarity with those affected by the forest fire that has affected six municipalities in Tenerife since Tuesday and has thanked the tireless work and professionalism of the troops who are fighting to extinguish it. In a message on social networks, Sánchez has also had words of support for those who have been evicted and has asked the population to be very careful and to remain attentive to the indications of the emergency services.
08 17 2023 17:37
The general director of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior, Francisco Ruiz Boada, traveled to the island of Tenerife this afternoon to see on the ground the actions being carried out to extinguish the fire that broke out last Tuesday in the mountains of the Tenerife municipality of Arafo and has burned more than 2,600 hectares.
08 17 2023 17:35
The evacuation of the Pino Alto neighborhood in La Orotava is ordered as a preventive measure due to the fire. People who need shelter can go to the Quiquirá Sports Center.
Elsewhere in the atmosphere, dust from the Sahara desert rose over the ocean. The river of dust that crosses the Atlantic was more pronounced in previous days, when it reached Caribbean islands. Traveling in the Saharan air layer, dust sometimes travels further west toward Central America and the US states of Florida and Texas.
To complete the list, the bright blue patch off the Moroccan coast is most likely a phytoplankton bloom. While the exact cause and composition of the bloom cannot be determined from this image, mineral-rich desert dust has been shown to trigger bursts of phytoplankton growth.
In addition to the Earth processes seen here, a remote sensing artifact is present. A diagonal streak of sunlight makes part of this scene appear washed out. Sunglint, an effect that occurs when sunlight reflects off the water’s surface at the same angle as a satellite sensor sees it, is also the reason for the light-colored streaks that trail from the islands.
