The island of Gran Canaria knows these last days "the most important fire" that occurred this year in Spain, according to the Minister of Agriculture Luis Planas. Hundreds of firefighters remained mobilized on the night of Monday 19 to Tuesday 20 August on this tourist island.

The President of the Canaries, Angel Victor Torres, has called it an "environmental drama" because it touches protected natural areas of the island located in the Atlantic, off Morocco. Monday night, this forest fire arrived with a heat wave was still not controlled.

🔴🔴🔥🔥 VÍDEO | More than 700 personas and 16 aeronaves combaten el fuego in Gran Canaria #IFGranCanaria #IFValleseco https://t.co/l8Bkzy80Vz pic.twitter.com/WnJlvy6lKH

Canarias Ahora (@Cahora) August 19, 2019

The perimeter of this forest fire, which occurred Saturday in the mountainous center of the island off the coast of Morocco, "increases" and "it is estimated that 10,000 hectares are affected," lamented the emergency services regional. More than 9,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes, but no injuries have been reported.

Ash rains

A thousand firefighters and agents were mobilized on the ground Monday, as well as 14 air assets. The planes dumped "a million liters of water" throughout the day, according to the emergency services. Two more water bombers helicopters must arrive on Tuesday, confirmed the Minister of Agriculture. The high temperatures, the wind and the rains of ashes that can cause new fire starts make this fire particularly difficult to fight.

Its main front is in the Tamadaba Natural Park, a pine forest among the wildest areas of Gran Canaria. "This is the main green lung of the island, (...) the environmental jewel of Gran Canaria," said Lourdes Hernandez, a forest fire specialist from the WWF environmental protection organization, interviewed by AFP. "It's not a fire like there were in recent years," she says, highlighting "the virulence of fire, the speed at which the flames spread and the intensity of the fronts."

Tourism saved

The interior of Gran Canaria, with very diverse landscapes and micro-climates, is popular with hikers, although the bulk of tourists frequent the beaches of the island, the second busiest in the Canary Islands. The regional government also stressed in a statement that tourism was not affected by the fire because "no tourist complex feels the effects."

This fire is the third in ten days to hit the island of Gran Canaria. Firefighters had not been able to completely extinguish the larger of the 1,500 hectares when the new fire broke out.

With AFP