“Let’s go see the snow” is the most repeated phrase in the winter of Tenerife. And seeing the snow on this Island is equivalent to going up Mount Teide. He council asks drivers to comply with three premises when accessing the National Park with their vehicles: prudence, information and preparation for freezing temperatures and the possible presence of ice on the road.
During the day of this Friday they originated the morning closure of main access roadsthe TF-21 through La Orotava and the TF-24 from La Esperanza. Both were reopened in the afternoon almost simultaneously. The presence of ice sheets is the main factor that produces this type of incident. Without going any further, last Thursday the Highway Maintenance service had to remove thirty people from the protected natural area who were trapped in their cars. The closures can be repeated again this morning.
Tomas Garcia, Island Director of Roads, explains: «The workers, also in the National Park, start work at seven in the morning and finish at nine at night. From there we must activate guard teams. This, adds García, “has happened in recent days when dealing with incidents of help from people who have been irresponsible by going to Teide when there is a snowfall pre-alert.” He emphasizes that “up there they have been unable to return because the ice sheets made circulation unfeasible.” And without having shelter or supplies.
We have attended to irresponsible people who have gone up despite the pre-alert for snowfall
García points out that “we have the staff divided into three zones. From the South they access through Vilaflor and Chío; from the Metropolitan Area through La Esperanza and people from the North arrive through La Orotava». The human resources in these operations, when there is snowfall, are usually made up of an average of 20 troops, including machinists, three snowplows and two loaders. They take turns when they reach the maximum of ten working hours.
“In recent weeks – underlines the island director – we have had to act several times”. Firefighters have been activated, the Rescue Group of the Civil Guard in High Mountain, Red Cross, Civil Guard of Traffic and Highway Maintenance. The problem has always been vehicles slipping on the ice until they occupy both lanes. In the early hours of last day 7, eight people were evacuated and on Wednesday 20 cars and 30 affected.
García understands that people want to “enjoy the snow”, but clarifies that there are circumstances that make the opening of the roads unfeasible: “We cannot do it if the ice sheets do not disappear.” The problem, he adds, “they rise at dawn and when night falls temperatures can drop to minus five degrees. It freezes and the plates originate.
García rejects that the Cabildo should allow chains to pass through the Teide National Park: “We would have to take studded tires because chains are useless for ice.” He recounts his experiences “There is no place in Canary Islands Where can you buy vehicle chains? To this we must add our lack of practice to install them and that they sell summer and winter tires. If you put chains on them, you destroy them.”
A reflection: «If the barriers are jumped and we have to help those who remain in the Teide They not only put their lives at risk but also that of those who are going to rescue him.. Displacing a crew of firefighters to Teide may mean that the Valley will be left without service that night. Enjoying Teide and the snow is fine, but “safely and above all responsibly,” concludes García.
Reinforcement of the Civil Guard
The Civil Guard reinforces its surveillance on Teide after the latest snowfall. The purpose of this service is to maintain security in high mountain areas and areas that are difficult to access, in order to prevent any accident, rescue, or incident of any kind that they have to attend to, as well as the conservation and protection of nature. The agents belonging to the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group (GREIM) are extremely vigilant these days. La Benemérita explains in a statement that Las Cañadas del Teide is an area with a large influx of people, especially on these days when it is snowy. For this reason, GREIM troops continuously carry out high-mountain reconnaissance and surveillance services, prepared with the material they have in order to access the most inaccessible areas if necessary. | JDM
