The Kings Felipe and Letizia they have visited this Tuesday the area affected by the Tenerife fire and subsequently met with members of the emergency services in Arafo, one of the twelve affected municipalities.
The day began with a visit to the Chipeque viewpoint, in Santa Úrsula, where the kings were received by the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, and the acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles , the president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Astrid Pérez, and the delegate of the Government in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, among other authorities.
At this point they have been informed by the environment and fire technician of the Tenerife Cabildo, Pedro Martínez, about how the fire advanced through the La Orotava Valley and threatened the population centers in the area, as well as about the difficulties of the extinction work due to changes in wind direction.
Pedro Martínez has admitted in statements to the media that the rains of these days have been “very, very good” but he has stressed that there are still “hot spots” and smoke from underground fires that, in any case, do not generate “ no problem” because when they leave they find material that is wet, and the fire has no capacity to burn.
“If conditions remain the same… the outlook is positive. But it is true that this subsoil fire is still active, although cooling little by little,” he added.
The mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, has taken advantage of the visit of the kings to demand their intercession so that the Canary Islands have a permanent base of aerial means against fires given “the experience” accumulated over the last 63 days.
Linares has elaborated that fires are becoming more frequent, “before it was every 6 or 7 years, now it is happening once a year,” and in the most recent one “we have lost almost 10% of the forest crown”; But despite the “brutal environmental damage” it has caused, “we have been relatively lucky” because only one home burned, he celebrated.
From the Chipeque viewpoint the delegation headed towards the town of Arafo, where the fire originated, and there Don Felipe and Doña Letizia met with almost thirty people, including councilors of the Government of the Canary Islands, representatives of the troops emergency and affected sectors such as agriculture, beekeeping, restaurants or hospitality.
After this meeting, held in the cultural center of Arafo, the kings approached the town square, packed with neighbors, whom they greeted one by one, with cheers and compliments, and even posed for ‘selfies’ with several young people who have asked for it.
All this in the midst of an extensive security device that has accompanied the kings throughout the day, which will continue this afternoon with an act of tribute to the fire services in the Adán Martín auditorium.
