The arrival of rain in the hills of Tenerife helps firefighters in the forests

The arrival of the first rains in the northern region of Tenerife has allowed the firefighters to make significant progress in extinguishing the forest fire that began in August. Yesterday, an average of approximately 25 litres per square metre of rain was recorded in the main reactivation points of the fire located in El Sauzal and Santa Úrsula.

The extinguishing operation, consisting of 67 BRIFOR personnel working in three shifts around the clock, has been conducting surveillance in the affected areas to locate and extinguish hotspots. The weekend's weather forecast also includes more rain, which is expected to further help their efforts.

Despite the arrival of the rains, the Cabildo wants to remind the public that the subsoil fire is still ongoing. Therefore, access to the affected areas remains prohibited due to the risks it poses to people's safety, including the potential presence of fire, falling trees, and scorched ground, which may collapse if stepped on.

It's worth noting that whenever a pre-alert situation for the risk of forest fires is declared, the burning of agricultural or forest vegetation residues is prohibited. In this regard, they have extended the forest fire risk alert status until October 29th.

Yesterday, the president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, and the Regional Government's Minister of Ecological Transition and Energy, Mariano Hernández Zapata, held a meeting along with their respective teams to discuss joint actions, budgeted programs for 2023 and 2024 related to stabilization, restoration, and cleaning of natural spaces and ravines. They also discussed employment plans and projects aimed at restoring the natural areas affected by the fire.