The 14,000 hectares of the Forest Crown of Tenerife affected by the fire declared on August 15 in the Arafo Heights are now officially a catastrophic zone. The Council of Ministers decided this yesterday, in a declaration that also includes others fires forests this year that have affected the communities of Andalusia, Castilla and LionCastilla-La Mancha, Foral Community of Navarra, the Valencian Community and Extremadura. In the specific case of Canary Islands The areas of Puntagorda, Tirajafe and El Paso affected by this summer’s fire in La Palma and those of Tejeda and Vega de San Mateo in Gran Canaria have also been declared a catastrophic zone.
In total, in the resolution of the Council of Ministers, 37 fires have been included, of which the worst in terms of the number of hectares burned is Tenerife, which is still not officially considered extinct. The declaration of an Area Affected by the Emergency, the official term included in Spanish regulations, allows all those affected to start applying for the financial aid necessary to recover the normality of their daily lives.
The latest balance of the area affected by the fire, still provisional, would go from 14,700 hectares to 13,977, and the perimeter, from 90 kilometers to 103. These data were provided on Monday by Grafcan, a public company of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands dependent on the Ministry of Ecological Transition. According to this map, the municipalities affected by the flames are 13. The one with the most damaged hectares, by far, is La Orotava, with 4,873. Candelaria, with 1,807 hectares, follows from most to least burned area; Arafo, with 1,715; La Victoria, with 1,055; and Los Realejos, with 1,041. The disaster forced the evacuation of more than 13,000 people and caused damage valued at more than 80 million euros. Of course, it ended with no injuries or completely destroyed homes.
Planned aid.
Among the measures approved by the central government, as announced by the acting Government spokesperson minister, Isabel Rodríguez, and her acting Interior counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, include aid for destruction or damage to essential goods, with a limit of 2,580 euros; aid for total destruction of the habitual residence, with a maximum of 15,120 euros; aid for damage to the structure of the habitual residence, with a maximum of 10,320 euros; aid for other damages to the habitual residence, with a maximum of 5,160 euros; aid for damage to common elements of a community of owners, with a maximum of 9,224 euros; aid to natural or legal persons who have carried out personal and property services, with the total amount of the expenses; or aid to the owners of industrial, commercial and service establishments, including agricultural, maritime-fishing and tourist establishments, with up to 9,224 euros. Items are also included for local corporations for expenses derived from actions that cannot be postponed, between 50% and 100%, depending on the case.
The state government’s support includes direct economic items and tax exemptions
Tax exemptions.
The agreement also provides for the possibility of approving an exemption from the fees of the Central Traffic Headquarters Autonomous Body for duplicate circulation or driving licenses, as well as cancellations of damaged vehicles. And the exemption in the Real Estate Tax quota and the reduction in the Economic Activities Tax (IAE) quota that correspond to the recipients of this aid or that the Ministry of Policy Territorial will grant aid, for an amount of up to 50%, to projects carried out by local entities to repair municipal infrastructure, facilities and equipment.
Operative that continues working on the ground.
The operation deployed by the Tenerife Cabildo in the extinction work is made up of 110 people, to which we must add coordination and logistics personnel. In addition, there are 15 people carrying out restoration work and 20 people working on the adaptation of forest tracks. Yesterday morning one of the helicopters of the Island Corporation intervened in the La Orotava area due to a reactivation. To this contingent we must add the rest of the personnel of the Brifor operation who are deployed throughout the territory in surveillance and extinction tasks. In that sense, on Monday there was an attempt in Garachico that was quickly controlled by Brifor and that affected an implement room and the surrounding vegetation.
The fire in the island’s waterfalls caused last-minute cancellations of tourist reservations
Measures in affected areas.
The Cabildo of Tenerife reminds that the emergency plans remain activated and that grade 3 measures are maintained in the municipalities of Güímar, Arafo, Fasnia, Candelaria, El Rosario, Tacoronte, El Sauzal, La Matanza de Acentejo, La Victoria de Acentejo , Santa Úrsula, La Orotava and Los Realejos. These measures contemplate the prohibition of lighting fires in recreational areas and traveling on forest tracks and trails. Staying in the mountains and making fires outdoors (bonfires, stoves, barbecues, gas stoves) are also prohibited; pyrotechnic displays and the use of machinery and tools that cause sparks. Nor can you circulate with vehicles engine on forest trails for recreational purposes. Hunting is prohibited in these municipalities, except in Güímar and Fasnia. Access to the National Park Teide by TF-24 (La Esperanza) and TF-21 (La Orotava) remain closed to guarantee the safety of people and facilitate extinction work. In addition, TF-523 (Subida Los Loros) remains closed.
Good tourist occupancy, despite the cancellations due to the fire.
Last August, hotel and non-hotel establishments in Tenerife had an average occupancy of 87.7% despite the fact that in the last ten days of that month many reservations were canceled or modified in some areas of the Island due to the forest fire, according to reports. yesterday the hotel association (Ashotel).