A forest fire between the Tenerife municipalities of Arafo and Candelaria, where more than 33,000 people reside, has forced the evacuation of several of its population centers and the closure of two roads. The fire started around midnight this Tuesday between the Los Loros-Los Brezos highway. The initial estimate of the affected area is 150 hectares and from the beginning, members of the forestry brigades and firefighters have been working on its extinction.
The evacuated population centers are Arrate, Chivisaye, Media Montaña and Ajafoña and the closed roads are TF 23, between Las Lagunetas and El Portillo, and TF 523, Carretera Los Loros, as reported by the Cabildo de Tenerife.
“A line of fire”
The mayoress of Candelaria (27,641 inhabitants), María Concepción Brito (PSOE), explained that the evicted area is not within her municipal area, but belongs to Arajo, and that they are people who live in a rural environment, who manage farms of animals or an older person. Brito has not been able to specify how many days they will continue in this situation and she has also shown her suspicions that the flames have been intentional. “There is a line of fire, which can be seen from the coast where several sources are observed. I can’t go any further. In my opinion, this has not been accidental ”, she stated in an interview on La hora de la 1, on TVE, trusting that the investigations will progress and that they can find the origin of the flames. The councilor, visibly affected, has asked the population for responsibility and prudence so that they heed the recommendations of the authorities and has also thanked the goodwill shown by the neighbors.
Right now two helicopters are flying over the area to work on extinguishing the flames, explained the mayoress. “Access by land is impossible,” she stressed. Brito recalled that a few weeks ago “there were a couple of attempts, on July 15 another fire was also declared in the same area, on the borders of the municipalities of Arafo and Candelaria.” Regarding the eviction of the residents that took place at eleven o’clock at night, Brito pointed out that it was “a very quick evacuation” and that the area affected by the fire is mostly agricultural where “few people” live. “There is a serious risk that it will spread to municipalities in the north of the island.”
The Government of the Canary Islands has raised the emergency level of the fire this Wednesday, which will allow the arrival of new means of extinction. The Cabildo de Tenerife, in charge until now of putting out the fire, had requested the Government of the Canary Islands to declare a Level 2 Emergency situation, something that implies that the Canarian Executive assumes the direction of the emergency.
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At the moment, the terrestrial means of the Cabildo de Tenerife, members of the Consortium of Firefighters and volunteer firefighters from Güímar and La Laguna are participating in the extinction of the flames. It is expected that different air resources of the regional Executive and the central Government will be incorporated.
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