Tijarafe (La Palma) (EFE).- The fire that has affected the northwest of La Palma since Saturday is evolving favorably, although three fronts remain active, the most worrying being the one that is advancing in the La Caldera de Taburiente National Park, of difficult orography and access, but far from inhabited areas.
The meteorology continues to be favorable to contain the fire, although not for the operation of the air resources, since the problem on Monday morning, the third day of the fire, is the thermal inversion, which keeps the clouds mixed with the smoke. , trapped at low altitude, and hinder the attack by the eleven helicopters and seaplanes mobilized, as reported at a press conference by those responsible for the operation.
The fire originated on Saturday morning in the municipality of Puntagorda and spread to Tijarafe, entering the National Park, where the fire has continued to advance at night.
It has affected an area yet to be determined, but it is estimated at around 3,500 hectares (previous estimates of 4,600 hectares were corrected downwards on Sunday), with around twenty burned buildings including homes, tool rooms and warehouses.
On Saturday, the evacuation of some 4,000 residents of both municipalities was ordered, although most of them, who live in the towns of Puntagorda and Tijarafe, from the LP-1 highway to the coast, have already been authorized to return to their homes in the Sunday afternoon.
According to the president of the Cabildo de La Palma, Sergio Rodríguez, this Monday is key to limiting the development of the fire, because the heat is expected to return as of Tuesday and the weather conditions of temperature and humidity will reverse.
Montserrat Román, head of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands, has warned that, despite the favorable evolution, the fire is still active “and is actively spreading”, especially in the Reventón area and in Cruz del Llano.
The two seaplanes of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Air Tractor cargo plane on the ground from La Gomera act preferentially in front of La Caldera de Taburiente, unloading retardant foam, while on the ground the checkpoints of the National Park and the firefighters arrived from Gran Canary.
At his head is Federico Grillo, head of emergencies of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, who has reported that the fire was going down during the night and entering La Caldera.
Risk at the bottom of the channel
The risk is that if it reaches the bottom of the channel, it can shoot and burn the entire caldera, he has warned.
To avoid this, the National Park unit is working in the upper part and the troops from Gran Canaria defend the lower part.
“It is a complicated maneuver and we are going to do it with great caution”, because the slopes are steep, very abrupt, and burning pineapples fall, in an area laden with smoke and where strong winds are also expected in the afternoon.
Manuel Miranda, Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, explained that 530 troops are working in the operation this Monday, supported by eleven air units, and he is confident that “positive news” will arrive throughout the day. ”.
Regarding the origin of the fire, the president of the Cabildo de La Palma has said that it is still under investigation, for which reason he did not want to advance any speculation.