SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Oct. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Doña Letizia, traveled to Tenerife today, Tuesday, to learn about the impact of the forest fire that has been ravaging the island since August 15 – it is not extinguished and there are reactivations – and that affected more than 14,000 hectares in a perimeter of 90 kilometers throughout twelve municipalities.
During their visit, the Kings have traveled kilometers and kilometers of burned mountains until they reach the Mirador de Chipeque, in Santa Úrsula. In the company of the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, they were received there by the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, and they held a meeting with the mayors of the affected municipalities and with responsible technicians. of the fire.
Pedro Martínez, head of the Territorial Forest and Fire Management service of the Cabildo of Tenerife, was in charge of explaining to the monarchs how the fire started 63 days ago and the difficulties that have arisen since then due to the high intensity of the flames. and the constant variations in the wind, which caused the fire to reach the towns.
The technician told the King that the rain that has fallen in recent days “has been very good” for the extinguishing work, but clarified that there are still hot spots and smoke continues to come out of the underground, although “it does not cause a problem because when it comes out “they encounter humid material that does not have the capacity to burn.” Pedro Martínez also pointed out that if conditions continue as they have been until now, the outlook “is positive” because, although the underground fire is still active, it is cooling “little by little.”
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia were also able to learn about the situation of some of the affected municipalities. Thus, the mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, indicated that fires like the one Tenerife has suffered, which has destroyed almost 10% of its forest crown, previously occurred every 6 or 7 years; but in the last eight they have occurred at least once a year.
For this reason, he has asked the Kings to intercede so that the Canary Islands can have a permanent air means base so that the cause-response effect is as short as possible and that the technicians are the ones who decide if this base has to have seaplanes or helicopters.
For his part, the mayor of Santa Úrsula, Juan Manuel Acosta, thanked the Kings for their visit, especially for “how bad the population has had it,” which has suffered “very significant exhaustion.” Thus, he recalled that this fire forced the evacuation of about 44,000 people and, in a second episode last October, about 3,000.
Therefore, he has also asked Their Majesties to “not forget the Canary Islands, to always be aware of what is happening here”, highlighting that their visit to the islands “is important to give us all encouragement, strength and, above all, , so that things change and treat all this in a different way, which is what the Cabildo of Tenerife and the Government of the Canary Islands are demanding.”
MEETING WITH AFFECTED PERSONS.
Subsequently, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia traveled to Arafo, the municipality where the fire started, to hold a meeting at the Cultural and Recreation Association with representatives of economic sectors affected by the fire, in which neighborhood entities and volunteers will also participate. Next, they took a short tour until they reached the Plaza San Juan Degollado, where they were able to greet the many neighbors gathered there, who received them with cheers and applause.
In the afternoon, at 5:30 p.m., an event will be held at the Tenerife Adán Martín Auditorium, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in which the staff, personnel, groups, official schools and corporations that have intervened since the The forest fire broke out.
