The Kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Doña Letizia, visited today the area affected by the fire that started on August 15 on the island of Tenerife and that devastated 14,700 hectares in a perimeter of 90 kilometers that affects twelve municipalities. from the canary island.
The monarchs landed around 11:15 in the morning and from the Los Rodeos airport they went to the Mirador de Chipeque, in the municipality of Santa Úrsula, from where they could contemplate the havoc caused by the fire, which has not yet been extinguished in its entirety. totality and that, from time to time, registers some reactivation, such as the one that occurred on October 9 and which forced the eviction of a hundred neighbors, and the intervention for the second time of the UME.
Don Felipe and Doña Letizia made the visit accompanied by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who already visited the island during the fire. The president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, the president of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Astrid Pérez, and the delegate of the Government in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, also participate in the visit.
In Chipeque the Kings have spoken with the mayors of the twelve municipalities affected by the fire that forced the evacuation of just over 3,000 residents as well as with technicians from the extinguishing device. At this meeting, the mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, presented to the Kings the need for there to be an aircraft base on the islands for extinction due to the fact that fires on the islands are becoming more frequent and virulent.
At this time the monarchs are moving to the municipality of Arafo, to the headquarters of the Cultural and Recreation Association and where they will hold a meeting with representatives of the economic and social sectors, such as several neighborhood entities.
This afternoon, at 5:30 p.m., the Kings will preside, in the Adán Martín Auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a tribute to the crews, troops, groups, official colleges and corporations that have intervened in the forest fire.
In order to minimize the impact of this fire and recover the affected green areas as soon as possible, the Tenerife Cabildo and the Foresta Foundation have launched the ‘Tenerife Renace’ project, which will last four years and aims to channel all the aid , both from natural and legal persons, to receive and undertake restoration actions in the burned area. The Cabildo has enabled a Bizum number for all the aid that is wanted to be carried out and will also allocate 29 million euros between the years 2024 and 2026 to achieve the recovery of the areas of Monteverde affected by the fire.
