FOREST FIRE UPDATE: Affected area and perimeter are stabilised

According to the technicians behind the coordination plan to extinguish the Arico forest fire in Tenerife, the area has now been contained to 3,300 hectares and the perimeter has been stabilised, although not fully under control, helped by a drop in the intensity of the wind despite the heat.

For this, a hundred ground troops had the mission of working during the night to keep the perimeter stable and consolidate the area affected by the flames, which they have managed to contain to the municipality of Arico, despite the spectacular smoke that can be seen from almost everywhere on the island and even from satellites.

During the day yesterday, they managed to keep the fire perimeter to 27 kilometres covering a surface area of 3,300 hectares, which again does not mean that the entire land has been affected by the fire, as it has stayed at ground level and not in the tops of the pines, without any danger to nearby populations, although it has affected some farms and vineyards, as well as the important ecosystem of the area.

Fortunately, yesterday afternoon, the wind dropped in intensity, being much less than initially expected, which helped the progress of the teams on the ground, with about 200 personnel including some from the Canary Islands Government, Cabildo de Tenerife, and the Military Emergency Unit, as well as five helicopters and two seaplanes which made slow progress due to the swell in the sea and had to collect water at the airport.

Yesterday their work was focused on the Tamadaya ravine, in the western area by the Río ravine and on the rest of the left flank to guarantee the safety of people, and to have the least possible impact on essential services and prevent it from reaching the mountains of Granadilla, Vilaflor, and the Teide National Park.

The technicians expected that last night the relative humidity would increase and there would be a change in the wind, which would turn towards the area of ​​the Tamadaya ravine, so the area was kept under surveillance against possible reactivations of the fire.

Both the Minister of Security and spokesman for the Government of the Canary Islands, Julio Pérez, and the president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, stressed that the fire had entered the Rio ravine, but without affecting the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, highlighting also that it had been controlled inside the Teide National Park.

TODAY IS LOOKING FAVOURABLE TO BEAT IT:
The weather forecast for today (Sunday) on the island of Tenerife, indicates that in the north it will be cloudy with the probability of weak rains during the early morning and early hours; while in the south, west and high areas there will be little cloud or clear skies, according to the State Meteorological Agency.

Temperatures will also drop, especially inland. The wind will blow from the northeast with strong intervals, and breezes on the west and north coasts. There is a strong probability of very strong gusts on southeast slopes, right in the area of ​​the fire.

There have been some spectacular photos of the personnel fighting the fire released by the Tenerife Cabildo, which show what they are having to contend with in the pine forest. The heat of the sun, the heat of the fire, dense smoke, all this in full protective clothing in remote areas only accessible on foot.

Here are some of those photos of our forest fire heroes: