Last night was very positive in the efforts to extinguish the forest fire in Tenerife thanks to more favorable weather conditions than initially expected. During the early morning they have managed to stabilize the areas of Arafo and Candelaria, where the fire originated last Tuesday. In the early afternoon of this Sunday, the evacuation order has been terminated in some places in both municipalities, so many residents will be able to return to their homes.
The General Directorate of Emergencies has authorized the return of residents evacuated from the upper part of the Araya ravines and from Cruz del Camino to the Los Brezos recreational area, in the municipality of Candelaria. The residents of the upper part of Igueste de Candelaria, on the margins of Camino La Cuestita, from the confluence with the Camino La Morrita and Part Caminos will also be able to return to their homes; and from the upper area of ??Araya from Cruz del Camino to Los Brezos.
On the contrary, in the municipality of Santa Úrsula the evacuation has been extended, which now also affects Cuesta Perera street.
“The night has been very hard but the result has been very positive”, explained this morning the president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, who stressed that the “greatest deployment of firefighters in the history of Tenerife” has been carried out. Thanks to the incessant work of a total of 343 troops on the ground, of which 150 firefighters fought together with the Military Emergency Unit, “we should not regret the loss of homes.”
Along the same lines, Fernando Clavijo has offered an optimistic perspective. “It is a very different scenario from the one we faced yesterday”, assured the Canarian president, who stressed that the weather had contributed during the early morning. “It increased the relative humidity and helped in the extinction work,” he stated.
The president stressed that it has been possible to prevent the fire from burning homes. “And based on how the night was set up, it’s almost a miracle.” Specifically, he has indicated that there was a fire in a tool room or several vehicles, but that although the fire came close to the houses, it was protected and “we are not talking about a house fire”, beyond some condition .
The affected hectares are already 11,600 and the perimeter covers some 84 kilometers along 11 municipalities (La Orotava, La Matanza, La Victoria, El Sauzal, Güímar, Arafo, Candelaria, Santa Úrsula, Tacoronte, El Rosario and Los Realejos). As for the evicted residents, there are about 12,279 people -below the 26,000 that had been estimated this Saturday based on the official census-.
This Sunday it has been decided to evict the El Teide National Parador. This Sunday, a total of 22 aerial means will fight during the day against the flames of the fire.
The technicians have explained that, during the night, there were important problems in El Ravelo and Benijo due to the paving that could be dealt with positively thanks to the enormous work carried out by firefighters, with the support of the forestry brigades. The fire has been stabilized from the Barranco de Añavingo, in Arafo, to the southern area of ??La Esperanza, where there have been some occasional reactivations. The increase in humidity also favored the extinction tasks in this area since the possibility of ignition of the sparks was considerably reduced.
The most complicated part of the fire is now in the Valley of La Orotava, especially in the El Portillo and Mal Abrigo area, where there is a lot of activity, and in the Cho Marcial area, in Arafo, where work will be carried out mainly with the most heavy so that it does not open as the potential would be greatly amplified if this were to happen.
The acting President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, travels to Tenerife this Monday to visit the area affected by the fire.
On the other hand, the Government of the Canary Islands has issued a bulletin with the declaration of unfavorable air for a territorial area that includes the municipalities of Los Realejos, El Sauzal, La Matanza, La Victoria, Santa Úrsula, La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Realejos, Buenavista del Norte, Los Silos, Garachico, Icod de los Vinos, La Guancha and San Juan de la Rambla. And to the south, the towns of Arafo, Candelaria, Güímar, Fasnia and Arico.
This situation is caused by the smoke from forest fires, which is made up of a mixture of gases and small particles that are emitted by the combustion of vegetation and other materials.
The Government of the Canary Islands advises avoiding permanence abroad and carrying out intense or prolonged physical activities. It also recommends closing doors, windows and if you have air conditioning, put it in recirculation mode and with clean filters. Outside, the use of an FFP2 mask is recommended to avoid respiratory problems and protect the eyes as much as possible, and wash them if necessary.
Sensitive population/risk groups
People with previous respiratory or cardiac diseases, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema
Children, pregnant women and the elderly
People who perform intense physical activity
People with reduced mobility
probable symptoms
Coughing, eye, nose or throat irritation; shortness of breath deeply, chest discomfort, palpitations, fatigue; aggravation of symptoms in people with previous respiratory or cardiac diseases.