He director of emergencies Council of Gran CanariaFederico Grillohas refuted this Wednesday the “widespread” belief that the fire devastates the mountains and has said that, in the case of Tenerife“we have not lost it” and there will be areas that will recover “in a very few months.”
In his last intervention as an analyst of the forest fire declared on the island on August 15, Federico Grillo He has affirmed that there is a belief that the mountain areas affected by the flames are devastated “and this is not the case.”
In the case of Tenerife, it is a very old island, originated about 12 million years ago in which there were volcanoes and lightning that burned it, disturbances such as snowfall, floods and wind storms and fires are part of these phenomena, has continued the specialist.
LAST MINUTE | The evolution of the fire continues favorable after activating some hot spots during the night
Some areas of Aguamansa, in La Orotava, and Güímar had a night surge that forced the rapid action of the firefighting teams
After visiting several of the areas affected by the fire on Wednesday night, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Riberaoffers an appearance before the media to analyze the evolution of the fire on the Island as well as the damage caused by the flames.
During the last night, the evolution of the fire continues to be favorable after not registering relevant incidents. The only compromising moments of the night took place in some hot spots located in Aguamansa, in the municipality of La Orotava, and in Güímar, but the rapid action of the firefighting teams prevented them from getting out of control.
A BRIFOR vehicle leaves the road and hits a tree
A car from the fire brigade suffered an accident when it collided on the ascent to Las Raíces and left one person slightly injured
A vehicle in which members of the Forest Fire Reinforcement Brigades were traveling left the road early in the morning on the ascent to Las Raíces, within the municipality of El Rosario.
09:32
Some access road cuts to the Teide National Park remain and for the moment there have been no major incidents in the electricity supply or in the telephone services.
Regarding air quality, the Emergency Management reported that it is still very unfavorable on the north slope due to the breeze regime, especially between the first hours of the night and the first hours of the morning, so the recommendations must be applied especially in night time.
09:08
The terrestrial device that will act today will be made up of more than 600 troops, of which some 300 carry out extinction work, 197 in security, 40 in logistics and more than 100 volunteers.
The area affected by the fire remains at 14,751 hectares and a perimeter of 90 kilometers.
09:03
Today, the firefighting operation will continue to work on the perimeter consolidation work and the aerial means will continue to unload in specific areas, especially in the Las Dehesas area, in Güímar.
08:55
Despite the fact that this positive evolution brings the stabilization of the fire closer, the technicians continue to ask for caution due to the high temperatures that continue to be registered on the island, which maintains the risk of occasional reactivations.
Early in the morning there was a traffic accident in which a vehicle belonging to the BRIFOR of the Cabildo de Tenerife left the road and hit a tree on the ascent to Las Raíces, El Rosario, resulting in slight injuries to one of its members. occupants. The person affected was assisted at the scene of the incident, so it was not necessary to transfer him to a health center.
08:55
The evolution of the fire continues to be favorable after developing a quiet night in which no relevant incidents have been recorded, except for some hot spots in Aguamansa, in La Orotava, and Güímar on which the firefighting teams have acted quickly.
07:59
The Emergency Management recalls the need for residents, especially those who are closest to the area affected by the fire, to carry out cleaning work in a 15-meter safety strip around the house to protect their homes and not leave outside elements that can burn easily. The collaboration of the population that has returned to their homes is essential so that they avoid displacements, leave the roads free and thus facilitate the transit of the emergency device quickly.
Regarding air quality, the Emergency Management reported that it is still very unfavorable on the north slope due to the breeze regime, especially between the first hours of the night and the first hours of the morning, so the recommendations must be applied especially in night time.
07:53
The aerial means have made 5,163 discharges with 8,885,700 liters of water since the beginning of their intervention in extinguishing the fire.
Some access road cuts to the Teide National Park remain and for the moment there have been no major incidents in the electricity supply or in the telephone services.
07:44
During the afternoon, the Plan’s management authorized the return home of a new group of residents who continued to be evacuated from the Agua García area, in Tacoronte; from the El Farrobillo area, in Santa Úrsula, and from El Sauzal.
The area affected by the fire remains at 14,751 hectares and a perimeter of 90 kilometers.
07:42
Little by little, optimism begins to win the battle against fire. It is still early to launch the bells on the fly, but tiny positive signs can already be seen on the faces of the people who have been reporting a fire that has devastated 14,700 hectares in 12 Tenerife municipalities for more than a week. Extinguishing resources have stabilized the advance of the flames “for the most part.” The situation is not under control, but the progress of the last 48 hours is considerable.
07:39
On the northern slope, the extinguishing media have acted on numerous hot spots within the perimeter, especially in the municipalities of Santa Úrsula, La Matanza, La Victoria, El Sauzal and Tacoronte. For its part, in the valley of La Orotava, the concentration of smoke continues to be very important, so the population of the area must continue applying self-protection measures such as the use of FFP2 masks.
The temperatures will continue to be high as of tomorrow, so prudence must be maintained in all the areas affected by the fire, where work will continue on the liquidation and consolidation of the entire perimeter.
07:37
Regarding the evolution of the fire, the technicians reported that the only front with an active flame continues to be located in the area of Las Dehesas, in the municipality of Güímar, where both land and air resources have been working constantly and its evolution is favourable. although the orography and high temperatures complicate its extinction.
07:37
The Tenerife fire is evolving favorably towards its stabilization after eight days of titanic fight against the fire, although the technicians ask for caution in the face of the high temperatures and the extension of the perimeter since reactivations can still be caused.
07:21
Mount firefighters against the fire
“The daily effort of these men is equivalent to that of the cyclists in a hard stage of the Tour de France.” The phrase is from Tenerife Federico Grillo, director of Emergencies of the Council of Gran Canaria. It refers to the members of the Brifor of the Tenerifeof the Eirif (Forest Fire Intervention and Reinforcement Team) of the Government of the Canary Islands and from the Brif of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, also from the Military Emergency Unit (UME). The phrase well summarizes the work of some men who fight every day to ascend their particular Tourmalet. Like the cyclists after 200 kilometers: the first line of fire – never better said – in front of the fire that has been burning the island’s mountains for nine days now. It is the forest firefighters, those from the mountains, who say a resounding “no” –an old advertising memory included– to the devastation of the flames in the forested masses of the Forest Crown.
08 23 2023 21:46
The fire in Tenerife could be considered stabilized this Thursday
Rosa Dávila thanked Minister Teresa Ribera for the means that the Government of Spain has made available to the island, in order to “see the light at the end of the tunnel”
The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Davilahas made a last evaluation of the day and has transferred to the citizenship that He hopes to consider the fire stabilized throughout tomorrow, Thursday.
08 23 2023 18:53
He Tenerife forest fire It already has an active fire. Although little by little, the firefighting teams have managed to reduce the intensity of the flames that 32% of the Crown Forest has been devastatedthe largest natural space in Canary Islands. In addition to the ground troops, the work of the aircraft has been essential in the fight against the fire. Some twenty aerial vehicles poured water to put out the fire that has already affected more than 14,700 hectares.
The vegetation has a certain adaptation, as demonstrated by the Canary Island pine, a 30-million-year-old species, older than Canary Islandsand that it arrived on the islands after the ice ages and has remained as a relic, since it has adapted very well, it has continued.
In the fire in Tenerife, black areas can be observed, which are where the embers fall and generate ignition, with high intensity fire and where the pine forest has burned in the top, so that a large clearing is generated through which the light will enter and from there will come a thicket and regenerate, but they are the parts that have suffered the most damage.
These are the areas where there may be an erosion problem and in which the Cabildo must apply a treatment to try to reduce drag.
Then there are green areas where the damage has been minimal, the needles have been cleared and they will recover in a few months, the specialist in forest fires has considered.
In addition, there are the yellow areas, where the most intense fire has affected the leaves of the pine trees but the tops have not burned, so they will throw away the needles and this will be “very good” because the ground will be covered and will protect from erosion.
In a month or a little more, the black and yellow parts will remain without leaves, but one will not have needles on the ground and the other will, a difference that will mark erosion problems.
Next year both will regrow but it will be more difficult for the one that has suffered the most intense fire, and the pine will resemble a cypress.
The area that is yellow will have a “very high” recovery in one or two years, which will be immediate in the case of the part that has remained green.
It is not a devastating fire, a “megafire” that devastates everything with high intensity, asserted Federico Grillo, who has considered that the fire on the island has attacked 40 percent with high intensity and the rest has been between medium and low intensity.
We must “internalize” this data “so as not to be left with the feeling that we have lost the mountains because it is not a total loss, they will be recovered,” he specified.
Federico Grillo has also pointed out that for months “we will see smoke” inside the mountain but “nothing happens”, because they are fires that remain “asleep, lethargic” in the areas where the fire has passed.