The La Palma forest fire, which broke out early Saturday morning in the northwest of the island, has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 people and has so far destroyed 4,675 hectares. Despite the voracity of the fire in the first hours since it started, the advance of the flames has slowed down, although it continues to be out of control.
The president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, pointed out last night that the evacuations have been met with resistance from the population, to which he asked that for their safety they pay attention to the security forces and bodies that want to ensure their integrity. In total, 4,255 people have been evacuated from the municipalities of Tijarafe and Puntagorda, according to the census, and there are currently more than a hundred people sheltered in the Los Llanos de Aridane municipal pavilion and assisted by the Red Cross.
The areas evacuated so far are the upper part of the LP-1 from the Fayal area to the Time Tower, the lower part of the LP-1 from the Fayal to the Barranco de Jurado, including the towns of Tijarafe, the area from the Hacienda del Cura, the facilities of Roque de Los Muchachos and the municipality of Puntagorda.
Before nightfall, the first seaplane arrived from Malaga was able to act on the fire and it is expected that a second aircraft will begin to fly over the area first thing in the morning. During the day yesterday, 400 ground troops and 13 air means worked to extinguish the fire.
Clavijo, who traveled to the island to follow the evolution of the forest fire, stressed that the drop in temperature, the increase in humidity and the fact that the wind is not blowing as strong as expected are positive factors in the efforts to extinguish the fire. fire, in which 100 ground troops and 11 air assets participate.
In addition to the population center of Tijarafe, the direction of the firefighting work has ordered the evacuation of the municipality of Puntagorda, with a population of 2,293 inhabitants.
