The fire in Puntagorda (La Palma) affects 140 hectares, burns 11 homes and evicts 500 residents

At this moment there are seven activated air resources, four of them already working on the ground

SANTA CRUZ DE LA PALMA, July 15 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has reported that the forest fire that originated in Puntagorda (La Palma) last morning has so far affected some 140 hectares of land in which up to eleven houses have been burned and some 500 evicted neighbors.

In statements to the media, he pointed out that, with respect to the people who have had to move from their homes as a precaution, even a thousand evicted could be reached in the next few hours.

"If the weather is with us, it seems that initially throughout today, with the means that are being put on the ground, we could try to control it but the wind is very changeable, strong gusts are expected and you have to be very prudence," he said.

For its part, the start of the fire was located in the vicinity of the LP-1 highway, at kilometer point 76. The 1-1-2 of the Government of the Canary Islands received the first alert calls at 01:05.

This was stated this Saturday during a press conference to report on the actions of the operation working on the fire that started around 01:00 this Saturday and which went to level 2 at 06:12.

From that moment, the Executive assumed the management of the emergency in application of the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Attention due to Forest Fires in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (INFOCA).

The territorial scope of the emergency includes the municipality of Puntagorda, made up of houses, crops, scrubland and pine trees with possible affectation to buildings and vehicles, the regional Executive has reported.

Preventively, a shelter has been evacuated and the residents of the municipality's residence for the elderly are confined to await the evolution of the fire.

At first, the Red Cross set up a facility in Tijarafe for the first assistance to the evacuees. Subsequently, for greater security, it has been decided to transfer it to another in Los Llanos de Aridane, with capacity for about 100 residents.

Until now, land resources from the Cabildo de La Palma, Brif from the Ministry, EIRIF from the Government of the Canary Islands, La Palma Fire Department, the Canary Islands Emergency Service (SUC), the General Police Corps of the Canary Islands, the Civil Guard, the Local Police and the Red Cross, have been involved. among other emergency resources.

At this time, there are seven activated air resources participating in extinction work -four of them already operating on the ground-, of which three are GES helicopters and four resources from the Government of Spain, including two seaplanes that have requested the central executive.

The municipalities of Puntagorda, El Paso, Tijarafe, Los Llanos de Aridane, Breña Baja, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Tazacorte and Garafía also collaborate in the deployed device.

Early in the morning, members of the Tenerife Fire Consortium, the Red Cross and the General Corps of the Canary Islands Police have traveled by boat to the island.

In the same way, 150 troops from the Military Emergency Unit will join the extinction tasks, since they will embark in the central hours of this day to join the terrestrial means.