Forest fires in the Canary Islands

With reference to my earlier postings concerning the recent forest fires in the Canary Islands. Thanks to the kindness of a personal friend of mine in Gran Canaria who has sent me an article from the island's RTN newspaper I can describe the latest information available to me. It is reported to be the worst ever ecological disaster to hit the islands. 4,200 people on Tenerife and 5,200 on Gran Canaria were forced to evacuate their homes. More than 500 people were fighting the flames on the ground with dozens of fire-fighters airlifted in from throughout the Canary Islands. Ten special fire fighting helicopters joined the efforts to stem the blaze. The flames have now affected 10,000 hectares of land in four separate municipalities on Gran Canaria. An area of more than 13,000 hectares has been zoned off on Tenerife. Temperatures have reached a sizzling 122 degrees Fahrenheit and strong winds aggravated the problem.

A forest guard who has admitted setting light to the fire, and also gave the warning to the authorities, when his contract was due to run out, has been remanded to prison without bail.

The blaze was, at its height, travelling at a speed of 13 metres per second!

Sadly, fire-fighters had to abandon their attempts to save Palmitos Park and the nearby hotel. Unconfirmed reports indicate that around 60 per cent of the animals perished in the fire, despite initial reports that they had all been rescued.

This is certainly a disaster that will live in the minds of Canary Islanders and thousands of loyal regular visitors for many years to come and my thoughts and prayers are with them every day.