The fire burns almost 15,000 hectares of Tenerife while it is entrenched in the highlands of Güímar

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Aug. 21 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The forest fire that affects the island of Tenerife has calcined a total of 14,878 hectares in a perimeter of just over 88 kilometres, while it has entrenched itself in the highlands of Güímar, an area where efforts will be focused, mainly due to air to try to stop the fire.

This was revealed at the press conference that night to give the latest data on the evolution of the fire that began on the night of August 15 in the Arafo mountains and has been active for six days.

The Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, has highlighted that during this Monday they have worked "hard" in the Izaña area, which was one of the focused objectives, where they have managed to stabilize " somehow" the fire, however "there has not been such luck" in the part of Malabrigo --alto de Güímar--, where this Tuesday the troops will continue to be used "in depth".

In any case, the counselor considers that it continues in a "positive evolution" and although "it will not be easy to control" the fire, due to its perimeter, work will continue and refresh equipment to maintain the dynamics. "Convinced that we are going to win this fire," he added.

For his part, the Technical Director of Emergencies of the Cabildo Gran Canaria, Federico Grillo, explained that the northern area of ​​the fire is in the "liquidation phase" although "with an active flame somewhere".

In this regard, he qualified that here the degree of combustion "is temporary and it is difficult to liquidate" because the descending winds "make it difficult" to work, although he pointed out that they have "extinguishing capacity" and for this the perimeter is being increased, drawing straight lines and making defense lines. "What lies ahead is a marathon," he pointed out.

As for the southern area of ​​the fire, he explained that the relocation in this part has been "faster because it has less amount of mulch", while in the highlands of Güímar the fire "has entrenched itself there" and the behavior has been the same. of threatening to go to the burned, an issue that "is positive."

In any case, he admits that there is "some risk" in this area because the "beast refuses to die" and the work that has to be done is "very, very complicated" for the troops, pointing out that the day of a person fighting against fire can be equated to "running a stage of the tour de France".

In this regard, the emergency technician of the Cabildo de Tenerife Pedro Martín has indicated that it is in the part of Malabrigo where "they are trying to do work from the ground" because "it is very complicated", since "there are many ravines", so Work will continue on Tuesday with aerial means so that the fire "does not go up the slope and does not go up to Fasnia", since it is the "critical point".

He added that they are also working on "closing all those hot spots" that continue to remain in some areas, which they want to "liquidate" as "as soon as possible"; while the valley of La Orotava, which "is quite good", they are going to try to "finish it off" this Tuesday.

The head of Civil Protection and Emergency Attention of the Government of the Canary Islands, Montserrat Román, indicated that of the 14,878 hectares burned, 37 percent correspond to the municipality of La Orotava, which is the "most affected".

He also pointed out that of the 381 troops that there are during the early hours of this Tuesday there will be 167 who will work to consolidate the "advances" achieved so far and 100 people in terms of security.

He added that early this Tuesday there will again be 20 aerial means and two for coordination, which will use a strategy "very similar" to that of this Monday.

Finally, the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, wanted to give a "thread of hope" to people who want to return to their homes, informing that a technical meeting is scheduled to be held this Tuesday to evaluate the conditions for carrying out a "de-escalation with "all the guarantees".

Thus, Dávila explained that the personal situation of each family has been assessed by offering alternative relocations to families with children, people with "more difficulties", while others have preferred to be close to their homes. "We fully understand the suffering of people who are without their homes," he concluded.

Finally, he pointed out that "great caution" must also be exercised with regard to air quality, asking citizens to have FPP2 masks and to use them if they consider it necessary.