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SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The forest fire that broke out last Thursday in the north of Tenerife and that already affects five municipalities: La Orotava, Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha and Icod de los Vinos, continues to be active but with slow progress, mainly on the eastern flank, and the area affected is already 2,423 hectares, with an approximate perimeter of 26 kilometers.
This was reported by the President of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, who appeared before the media after attending the technical coordination meeting in the morning, in which he was accompanied by the Minister of Public Administrations, Justice and Security, Julio Pérez ; the head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, and the BRIFOR spokesperson, Pedro Martínez.
The president explained that the area of greatest concern at the moment is the Chanajiga area, as it is inaccessible by land, so that today the aerial means are going to concentrate on the Tigaiga slope. Specifically, this Sunday thirteen air assets are operating, including the two seaplanes, and today a reinforcement of 40 troops from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) will arrive.
Ángel Víctor Torres has indicated that during the night there have been winds of between 10-15 km/h, for which he is being the “great ally” to be able to walk towards the control of the fire, and a humidity of 55-60%. However, the temperatures remain high and throughout the day they will cause the humidity to drop, which makes extinguishing tasks difficult.
The president wanted to remind that warnings for high temperatures remain active in all the islands and a drop in thermometers is not expected until next Wednesday. In fact, this Monday and Tuesday a rise in temperatures is expected, which is worrying in Tenerife and in the rest of the islands.
On the other hand, Torres reported that several roads remain closed, including the TF-21, which connects La Orotava and El Portillo, and the greatest impact of the fire has occurred in the municipalities of Los Realejos, San Juan de la Rambla and La Guancha, and to a lesser extent in Icod de los Vinos and La Orotava, where yesterday the residents of Orégano Street had to be evacuated.
In this regard, he recalled that there are a total of 584 people who have been evacuated from their homes as a precautionary measure and by the Red Cross two sports centers have been set up in case the relocation of the affected neighbors is necessary. During the night there have been neither evacuations nor evictions and all the evacuees are in the houses of relatives and in hotels. There are also no people in shelters.
Likewise, the Official College of Veterinarians of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has activated a service for the reception and care of domestic animals.
EVOLUTION OF THE FIRE.
Regarding the evolution of the fire last night, the head of the Civil Protection service, Montserrat Román, explained that both the west flank, in the Icod de los Vinos area, and the south flank, in the La Fortaleza area , they have advanced very slowly; however, the eastern flank, in the Chanajiga area, has advanced faster due to changes in the wind and the difficult orography, which have made the action of land resources “quite complicated”.
Montserrat Román explained that the extinction device today will be made up of 170 troops, plus the thirteen air means. With regard to the weather, today there will be temperatures above 30 degrees and a relative humidity of less than 30%, which does not favor the extinction work, although the wind is not very intense, around 15 km/h, and of north-east component, which helps to reverse the advance of the fire on the east flank. In addition, the warning is maintained due to haze, which can hinder visibility.
