2023-10-07 10:21:45
Living with fire. Evacuated after the resumption of a major fire on Wednesday, 3,200 residents of Tenerife were allowed to return to their homes on Friday, the fire having reduced in intensity, according to the authorities. “The developments of recent hours and the work of the fire-fighting system allow us to lower” the level of danger of the fire from 2 to 1, announced on X (ex-Twitter) the head of the regional government of Canaries, Fernando Clavijo. “The evacuated people” can therefore “return to their homes,” added the elected official, nevertheless calling for “precaution” to be exercised.
The fire, in progress since August 15, but considered “under control” since September 11, suddenly reactivated on Wednesday due to wind and high temperatures, rising to level 2 on a dangerousness scale of up to 3. This led the authorities to order on Wednesday evening the evacuation of 3,200 residents of the town of Santa Ursula and the neighboring town of La Orotava. Resources in the area had also been reinforced, with the arrival of firefighters from the Military Emergency Unit (UME).
“Air and land resources continue to work on site,” assured the head of Tenerife’s local government, Rosa Davila, on X. According to the authorities, 120 firefighters supported by nine helicopters are mobilized to fight the fire, located in a rugged area in the northeast of the island. Between August 15 and early September, the latter had ravaged 15,000 hectares of land, or 7% of the surface area of Tenerife.
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