2023-08-24 23:19:00
The island of Tenerife had been in flames for nearly 10 days, causing innumerable damage and leading to the evacuation of thousands of people.
By GA with AFP A Canadair recharges with water in the port of Santa Cruz, Tenerife. © CESAR MANSO / AFP Published on 08/24/2023 at 11:19 p.m.
Thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes. The violent fire which devastated, since August 15, the ultra-tourist archipelago of the Canaries, has been “stabilized”, say the local authorities.
“We can now say that the fire has stabilized, this is excellent news,” explained the manager as the flames have devoured a perimeter of around 90 kilometers for nine days over an area of around 15,000 hectares.
The rescuers waited to have a phase of “control and extinction and about 48 hours later, if the perimeter has not advanced”, then the fire is considered to be “stabilized”, detailed Mr. Clavijo. This forest fire, the largest in Spain since the beginning of the year, did not claim any victims but forced thousands of people to flee. Up to more than 12,000 people at the height of the disaster, most of whom have already been allowed to return home.
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Tenerife having a total surface area of 203,400 hectares, approximately 7% of the island’s surface area was reduced to ashes. “This does not mean that there will not be a reactivation, warned Fernando Clavijo adding that all ‘means were deployed in a wide perimeter of more than 90 kilometers to be able to act immediately and stifle any type of reactivation that occurs. would produce’. According to the latest report provided by the authorities during this press conference, nearly 15,000 hectares have been affected on the island, the largest of the Canaries, and 115 firefighters and soldiers are hard at work leading this battle against the fire, aided by 16 aircraft.
More and more fires in Europe
In 2022, 300,000 hectares were destroyed by more than 500 fires in Spain, a record in Europe, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). Since the beginning of the current year, the country has recorded 340 fires which have ravaged nearly 76,000 hectares, according to Effis.
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According to experts, extreme weather phenomena have intensified recently due to global warming, responsible for more frequent, longer and more intense heat waves and periods of drought.
Spain, which has been experiencing its fourth heat wave of the summer since Sunday, is on the front line in Europe in the face of global warming and its consequences.
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