Forestry fire which took place yesterday Tuesday (15/8) in a mountainous national park in Tenerifein the Canary Islands Spainhas spread across 18,000 acres within 24 hours as firefighters struggle to contain it as it rages in hard-to-reach areas, leading to road closures and the hasty evacuation of residents of five villages.
The perimeter of the fire had reached 22 kilometers last Wednesday night, in extremely dry forest lands and areas with low vegetation in steep canyons, not far from the volcano of Mount Teide – the highest mountain in all of Spain, the top of which reaches the 3,715 meters–, complicating access.
“The fire is out of control” and the outlook is “not positive”said Fernando Clavijo, a top executive of the regional government, during a press conference yesterday afternoon in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife.
“Our goal for tonight is defensive”, more specifically “that the fire does not continue to spread”, he emphasized. “We will work to protect residents’ property”he added.
Spanish authorities have deployed 14 aircraft – three sent from mainland Spain – and a total of 250 members of the fire brigade and military.
A firefighting seaplane arrived in the largest and most populous of the Canary Islands yesterday afternoon and two more are expected in the morning.
Vicki Palma, the municipality’s forest fire adviser, warned speaking to a Canary Islands radio station that overnight temperatures were set to drop to around 20°C and sea winds would pick up.
Pedro Martinez, head of the emergency services, predicted that the situation will be difficult and “intense” today as well.
Rosa Dávila, head of Tenerife’s local government council, said access to all the island’s mountains, especially the Teide, which is visited by many tourists, was banned to avoid “any incident”.
According to local media, around 150 residents were evacuated from five villages in the north-eastern part of the island, where mainly farms and country houses are located. A dog shelter in the area reported that some of the most vulnerable, with respiratory problems, were rushed away to avoid inhaling smoke.
Both Tenerife airports are operating as normal, according to Spain’s national airport management company AENA.
Last week, a heat wave dried up vegetation in many areas of the Canaries, increasing the risk of wildfires.
Already this summer the Spanish fire brigade has been called to deal with several fires in Gran Canaria and La Palma, two other islands of the Canary archipelago.
Mediterranean countries have been faced with the consequences of heat waves that magnify the risk of fires. Scientists have pointed out that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, more severe, more extensive and are occurring at other times of the year besides summer due to climate change.
Source: News Beast
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