Firefighters continued to battle with the Arico forest fire during the night, to try and contain it in the highlands of the municipality, in the protected area of the Corona Forest, at an altitude of more than 1,000 metres. The high temperatures, which reached over 30 degrees Celsius yesterday and the strong gusts of wind, of over 30 kilometres per hour, nevertheless made it very difficult. "Everything possible is being done to contain the flames but it is proving very complicated due to the adverse weather conditions and because the area where the fire is developing is very steep, inaccessible and with a lot of vegetation," revealed the mayor of Arico, Sebastián Martín, last night.
For, as yet, unknown reasons, the first big fire of 2021 in Tenerife broke out at 11:45am yesterday in the Chajaña ravine in the pine forests of Arico, far from towns and farms. The last estimate of those responsible for the operation was of more than 600 hectares affected. It is a steep wooded area, with very deep ravines. The only positive thing that could be expressed last night, and that gives certain hope to the operation, is that "the fire is on the ground," according to the mayor of Arico. “Ground fire is less dangerous. If it is higher up trees we would be more concerned than we already are, because this type of fire spreads faster and is more dangerous for extinguishing teams.”
Level 2 emergency:
The fire was declared a level 1 emergency at 3:00pm yesterday afternoon, just three hours after it started, but it worsened and passed to level 2 at 7:30pm when the imposing columns of smoke could be seen from practically all the high points of the island, especially in Arona, Adeje and Santiago del Teide, where the wind was heading.
Despite its size, the flames had not caused any injuries or evacuations last night, and there were no reports of damage to homes or farms. Just in case, the Arico City Council activated the health and social services in case a lost hamlet or house had to be evacuated. For this, the Arico Viejo shelter was prepared. The Consistory also set up a point of care and supplies for the troops who face the flames. "All the mayors of Tenerife and those responsible for the town councils called us to offer their support," informed the Arico mayor, who is in permanent contact with the coordinators to follow the evolution of the fire.
A large team was assembled shortly after residents of the highlands of Arico and Fasnia warned of the smoke. More than 200 people worked by land and air, including firefighters, members of the Cabildo's fire brigades, teams from the Canary Islands Government based in La Palma, El Hierro and La Gomera, Guardia Civil, Local Police from various municipalities, members of Civil Protection and health, social and coordination teams.
Six air resources also took part: three helicopters from the Canary Islands Government Emergency and Rescue Group (GES), another from the Cabildo de Tenerife, a seaplane from the Air Force, which travelled from Gran Canaria, and a helicopter from the Guardia Civil. In addition, 40 soldiers from the Military Emergency Unit (UME) joined last night, with six pumpers and two support vehicles.
Seprona is investigating the source:
The Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Guardia Civil opened an investigation yesterday afternoon to determine the origin of the fire. An oversight due to the burning of stubble is ruled out, as there are no farms or homes in the Chajaña ravine, where the first flames were seen.
There is still no hypothesis. "Except for the burning of stubble, the rest of the possibilities are still open," admitted Sebastián Martín, who assured that no complaint had been received regarding suspicions that it was started on purpose. “Right now we are focused on extinguishing tasks and protecting people who may be near the fire. There will be time to determine what has happened later," he stressed.
At the moment the fire has not entered Teide National Park or any population nucleus. Only a change in the direction of the wind could carry the flames to the Teide National Park, the most protected area of Tenerife, whose southern tip is about 6 kilometres from the pine forests of the Corona Forestal area. It was not ruled out last night because, as sources from the operation explained, at night there are usually variations that can direct the strong gusts towards the summits of the Island. “In principle we are not afraid that it could go to Teide, because even if the wind changes direction, the Arico pine forest becomes much less dense as it approaches the National Park, so there is not as much fuel for the fire as there is in the Corona Forestal”, explained Sebastián Martín. In any case, part of the teams on the ground were deployed at various points to prevent, among other things, the fire from spreading to Teide.
The recreational area of El Contador:
The flames were heading south yesterday, towards the heights of Granadilla de Abona and Vilaflor, which, like Arico, have rich Canarian pine forests, which regenerate after a fire. Specifically, according to the last part, the fire was approaching the recreational area of El Contador, at 1,240 metres of altitude, an area in which the pine forest predominates but in which there is also low scrub. Anyone from here has been evicted in a preventive way, especially due to the risk of smoke inhalation.
Waiting for another seaplane:
Another seaplane is expected to be incorporated today, which is flying from mainland Spain, as the weather forecasts point to more wind and heat for today, which won’t help the evolution of the fire. In fact, gusts of wind that could reach up to 70 kilometres per hour are expected, as well as temperatures close to 30 degrees.
Meteorologists warn about the three 30’s when talking of conditions for forest fires:
Temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius
Gusts of winds above 30 kmh
Humidity above 30%.
There hasn’t been a storm of trade winds as powerful in Tenerife as the one yesterday since 2015 which has mercilessly fanned the flames of the first forest fire that is affecting the Canary Islands this year.
