Tenerife’s fire brigade cannot get the huge fire ravaging the forests under control. Instead, it has increased in force.
– Extinguishing the fire is beyond our capacity, says fire chief Pedro Martinez according to TT.
One reason why the fire has increased, and spread uncontrollably, is because the weather conditions during the night of Saturday were worse than expected. This when the temperature has risen and the wind has blown up on the island.
Several communities have been completely emptied of their population. There are no figures on exactly how many have been evacuated. According to Social Affairs Minister Candelaria Delgado, 26,000 people have been affected and by Friday evening 4,500 people had been forced to leave their homes.
The fire is considered the worst in the Canary Islands in over 40 years, according to TT.