Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE)
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, explained that despite the “voracity” of the fire in the first hours, it has been possible to slow down the progress of the fire although “it continues to be out of control.”
He has pointed out that the evacuations have been met with resistance from the population, which he has asked to pay attention to the security forces and bodies that want to ensure their integrity for their safety.
4,255 people evacuated
So far, 4,255 people have been evacuated from the municipalities of Tijarafe and Puntagorda, according to the census, and there are currently more than a hundred people sheltered in the Los Llanos de Aridane municipal pavilion and assisted by the Red Cross.
The areas evacuated so far are the upper part of the LP-1 from the Fayal area to the Time Tower, the lower part of the LP-1 from the Fayal to the Barranco de Jurado, including the towns of Tijarafe, the area from the Hacienda del Cura, the facilities of Roque de Los Muchachos and the municipality of Puntagorda.
The affected area is 4,675 hectares, according to NASA satellite perimeter.
Before nightfall, the first seaplane arrived from Málaga was able to act on the fire and during the early hours of the morning the second will arrive, which will start operating first thing in the morning.
400 ground troops and 13 air assets
During the day, 400 ground troops and 13 aerial means have worked to extinguish the fire, which will also be acting tomorrow.
Clavijo stressed that the drop in temperature, the increase in humidity and the fact that the wind is not blowing as strong as expected are positive factors in the work to extinguish the fire in which 100 ground troops are expected to participate tonight.
In addition to the population center of Tijarafe, the direction of the firefighting work has ordered the evacuation of the municipality of Puntagorda, with a population of 2,293 inhabitants.