SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Jan. 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Tenerife Fire Consortium is working to extinguish a fire at a composting plant located in the Parque de la Reina area, in the municipality of Arona, which broke out on Thursday afternoon.
The fire has generated a large column of smoke and is expected to continue for several days due to the type of fuel that burns.
In this way, during the night there will be a contingent of about 15 people and a dozen vehicles belonging to the Tenerife Firefighters Consortium and the Volunteer Firefighters of Adeje, Güímar and La Laguna who will carry out surveillance work.
The work will focus on the defense of a home and the observation and review of the perimeter to prevent it from increasing, the Cabildo reports in a note.
Since early in the afternoon, several Tenerife Firefighters teams from the San Miguel, Güímar and Santa Cruz de Tenerife parks and from the Adeje and Güímar volunteer firefighters moved in with a total of 12 teams and 19 people.
Likewise, personnel from the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), and police resources from the Civil Guard and the Local Police, as well as Civil Protection personnel, were deployed.
In addition, a helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Group (GES) of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Brifor helicopter of the Cabildo carried out several downloads in the area. These aircraft will join the extinguishing efforts first thing in the morning.
The Minister of Natural Environment, Sustainability and Security and Emergencies, Blanca Pérez, and the Minister of Primary Sector and Animal Welfare, Valentín González, as well as other members of the insular Corporation, traveled to the area early in the afternoon.
Thus, some 180 animals that were in an area adjacent to the composting plant have been evacuated.
Specifically, these are the Esperanza del Sur and Live Arico shelters. Most of the animals have been rehomed in other animal shelters and by volunteers. In addition, the Cabildo created about 30 places at the Tierra Blanca Animal Protection Center (Fasnia) in case it is necessary to house the animals.
The Town Council asks the population to follow the instructions of the authorities and, as far as possible, avoid traveling through the area.
PREVENT SMOKE FROM ENTERING HOMES
In this sense, the Arona City Council has issued a series of recommendations to the population of the urban centers of Parque La Reina, Buzanada, Guaza, Cabo Blanco and Valle de San Lorenzo, requesting that they take extreme precautions and take preventive measures such as closing the doors, windows and all the ventilation of the house (chimneys, heating, air conditioners) to prevent smoke from entering the home.
Likewise, it is requested to avoid, as far as possible, staying in outdoor areas and preventing children and adults from being exposed to the outdoors. In addition, it is recommended to use masks if you go outside.
In the event that the cloud is very dense, it is recommended not to drive vehicles to avoid accidents due to lack of visibility.
In total seven people have been treated, and two of them, a man and a fire officer with an eye injury, were taken to the hospital.
