Laurel, canary foliage (Viburnum rigidum Vent), some laurel, heather and remains of eucalyptus survive in The Hornaca, in Tacoronte. The place is always cloudy, hence it is also known as the forest of fog, and is characterized by intense humidity, thanks to which it has achieved survive fire despite being one of the most affected areas of the municipality by the fire that devastated Tenerife since August 15.
There lives Erasmus, its most peculiar inhabitant, a person who has lived and survived most of his life among the thick vegetation, which he uses as a hiding place when he hears noises or sees people he doesn’t know. He also did it weeks ago, when he alone, guided by his instinct, walked down the mountain to escape the flames and, fortunately, so did the room in which he lives and the track through which he accesses .
Entering the forest, there is still a burning smell and you can see the embers of a stabilized fire, but which has not been extinguished and which has affected a total perimeter of 88.45 kilometers on the Island, in addition to disrupting the life of 12 municipalities. , among them, Tacoronte, where residents of Agua García and Barranco Las Lajas were evicted for some days for security reasons.
The worst fire in the last 40 years in the Canary Islands and the worst in Spain in 2023 had several reactivations in this northern town, where there were two complicated outbreaks. There, the work of the Tenerife Firefighters, the Brifor, through Civil Protection, aerial means and security bodies and forces managed to save in Agua García one of the few remaining laurel forest strongholds on the Island – along with Anaga and Teno – , which houses specimens of very old viñátigos, which constitute a special point in that forest, because they escaped logging and managed to survive for years. Hence they receive the name of centuries-old guardians. One of them, the one located next to the Toledo Caves, is 800 years old and that’s why they call it grandpa.
The upper part was the most attacked, but the one where the best preserved laurel forest is found managed to be saved, because they are specimens that retain a high percentage of humidity, even though their leaves look dry.
“The trees that are drier would have burned and this mountain does not have as much capacity to regenerate as the pine forest has. Therefore, it has to serve all of us to improve access roads, remove undergrowth from the environment and consider the management of the forest. Although it is not a direct responsibility of the City Council, there must be interaction between the different administrations. I think that more than conserving we have to start talking about managing and creating grazing economies around the forest,” declares the Councilor for Ecological Transition, Primary Sector and Parks and Gardens, Arsenio Gómez.
Quantification of conditions
The City Council has not yet quantified the number of hectares burned because there are still several accesses to the mountain that are closed. According to the data provided by the Cabildo of Tenerife, there were approximately 300, “but this figure will have to be refined to see how many are burned completely, partially or dryly due to the heat,” he specifies. If verified, he adds, “it would be an enormous amount, since the municipal forest has 600 hectares and would be half of that.”
Arsenio Gómez and his Corporation colleague, Jesús Acosta, responsible for Public Lighting, Water and Sanitation and Family Support and Addictions, accompanied DIARIO DE AVISOS on a tour of the area affected by the flames. The latter was also an important pillar because he lives in Agua García and had the difficult task of evicting neighbors and friends.
There are burned fruit trees, especially reineta apples, some quince trees and a lot of brambles, “which burn like wildfire,” says Gómez, who emphasizes the need to resume grazing in the mountains to prevent fires or to ensure that they are not so aggressive. .
Regarding the effects on the primary sector, the City Council has opened a contact system through the Farmer’s Market and social networks, and to date it is not aware of any agricultural farms that have suffered serious damage, only some fruit trees and local beekeepers who had their hives moved to other municipalities.
The livestock farms, mainly horses, were evacuated and there is no certainty that any damage has been done to them. However, the Primary Sector councilor insists, “we are in the data collection phase, because there are entry restrictions to the mountain that must be respected,” given that the fire has not been extinguished.
