The Special Civil Protection and Emergency Response Plan for Forest Fires in the Canary Islands (Infoca) announced yesterday, Friday, that given the ongoing situation of the wildfire in Tenerife, which was declared on August 15th, continuous containment efforts are needed to address the subsoil fire. This precaution is crucial, as subsurface burning may lead to new outbreaks in the ‘risk’ zone.
This situation, combined with the persistently high temperatures and dry air, necessitates the maintenance of a Level 2 severity alert for the fire, and as a result, emergency operations remain under the direction of the Canary Islands Government, not the Tenerife Cabildo.
Yesterday, the firefighting teams focused their efforts on containing the underground fire and addressing reactivations, which have been consistently occurring in the forested area of Santa Úrsula, with 15 reactivations reported by Infoca.
Efforts also concentrated on the El Ravelo area, where hotspots persist, and the area between Las Hayas in Tacoronte and Las Calderetas in El Sauzal, which has also seen new outbreaks.
A total of 104 firefighting personnel are still involved in the operation on the ground, including forest firefighting brigades, the Military, police, personnel from CECOPIN (Coordination Centre for Comprehensive Attention to Emergencies and Security), and the Directorate General of Emergencies, as well as Red Cross personnel.
In addition to this, six helicopters are continuing to provide air support, making water drops as needed. Over the past few days, aerial resources have conducted over 1,800 water drops, using nearly 2.3 million litres of water.
The Government of the Canary Islands reminds the public that the maximum alert situation declared by the Directorate General of Emergencies for the risk of forest fires in the western islands and Gran Canaria remains in effect, along with pre-alert conditions due to haze and high temperatures throughout the archipelago.
The island of Tenerife, along with the other western islands and Gran Canaria, remains on maximum alert for the risk of wildfire due to temperatures exceeding 34°C, low humidity, and prevailing winds.
