The fire on the Spanish island of Tenerife triples its extension in just 24 hours

It has already consumed more than 2,600 hectares and caused more than 7,600 people to be confined.

The forest fire that broke out on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Tuesday night has tripled in size in the past 24 hours. On Wednesday morning around 800 razed hectares were reported, while this Thursday it already exceeds 2,600.

The calcined area is within a perimeter of 32 kilometers and affects six municipalities. His virulence has forced him to decree the confinement of the urban area of the population in El Rosario, due to the incandescent material (paveseo) produced by the fire and to leave the roads to the emergency services completely clear.

In addition, there has also been the evacuation of the upper part of the Hondo ravine, Las Rosas, Los Apaches-Camino La Huerta, in the same municipality of El Rosario, as well as the eviction of La Resbala and Pinolere in La Orotava.

According to Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands, the archipelago to which Tenerife belongs, there are already more than 7,600 people who have had to be confined or evacuated.

Clavijo has also pointed out at a press conference, after the meeting of the fire monitoring coordination plan, that the extinction work is effective, but that it is being hampered by a unexpected meteorological evolution.

Currently, 17 aerial means are participating in the work, including three amphibious aircraft of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge. In addition, to this day has been added the reinforcement of a new detachment of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and members of the security forces and bodies.

The air quality is unfavorable in four municipalities (Guimar, Arafo, Candelaria and El Rosario) due to smoke from the fire, made up of a mixture of gases and small particles, as reported by the technical director and head of the Civil Protection service of the Emergency Department, Monserrat Roman .

The technician of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Vicky Palma, maintained that the current one is “a fire never seen in the Canary Islands for as long as there are records”, and that it is creating its own meteorology in the interior.