Image: DESIREE MARTIN (APA/AFP/DESIREE MARTIN)
The flames have so far covered around 5,000 hectares of nature, said Canary Prime Minister Fernando Clavijo late Friday evening. That’s roughly the size of 7,000 soccer fields. Due to the slower spread of the fire, the curfew for several thousand people in the municipality of El Rosario was lifted.
According to official information, the flames that had been raging in the north-east of the island since late Tuesday evening were also fought by around 300 emergency services on Saturday night.
4,000 people evacuated
After daybreak, a total of 18 firefighting planes and helicopters would be used again on Saturday, it said. A good 4,000 people have been evacuated from their homes since the fires began. Emergency shelters have been set up in gymnasiums. The cause of the fire that broke out near the municipality of Arafo was still unclear.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a visit to the island for Monday. According to Prime Minister Clavijo, it is probably one of the worst fires in Tenerife in the past 40 years. According to official information, the extinguishing work was made more difficult from the start by the difficult-to-access terrain and the adverse weather conditions. Fortunately, the winds have meanwhile become much weaker, it said.
As a precaution, the access roads to the Teide volcano, which is popular with tourists, have been closed. Nevertheless, normality prevailed in the tourist areas, as the Tenerife travel authority emphasized. According to the latest information from the travel company Tui, there have been no restrictions on travel so far.
The Foreign Ministry in Vienna announced on Friday that no Austrian travelers affected by the fires have reported to the ministry or the responsible Austrian embassy in Madrid. “We have occasionally received inquiries from people who wanted to find out about the situation on site before their trip,” said APA in a statement. “Those affected can contact the State Department’s emergency number (+43-501150-4411) at any time.” The forest fires in Tenerife would show once again how important it is to register a trip at https://auslandsregistrierung.bmeia.gv.at/#/ with the Foreign Ministry, and not just for exotic destinations. Currently, only around 440 Austrian vacationers are registered with the Foreign Ministry throughout Spain.
Source: Nachrichten
