The Tenerife Tourism Corporation has insisted that “normal life prevails” in the main tourist and residential parts of the island amid a raging wildfire.
In an update on Friday, the organisation said 3,800 people had been evacuated as a precaution, while another 3,800 were sheltering to minimise their exposure to smoke and ash as the blaze affected more than 3,000 hectares.
“The fire broke out on the wooded slopes of the island, away from the main tourist and residential centres, where daily life continues as normal,” the tourism corporation said.
However, it added in a statement: “A major technical and personnel deployment comprising 17 airborne devices and 260 staff on the ground continued their efforts to control the fire, which has been affecting the island of Tenerife since the night of Tuesday, 15 August.
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“The fire has not caused any personal injury, thanks to the efforts of the firefighters deployed, with efforts being perfectly co-ordinated by the Island Council of Tenerife, the regional government of the Canaries, and the Spanish government.”
The area affected by the fire was described as being equivalent to 1.6% of the island, 52% of which has protected status, while residential and tourist areas make up 23%.
“This percentage includes tourist infrastructure such as resorts and accommodation, as well as tourist attractions, accounting for 5%, almost entirely concentrated in the areas closest to the coast, while the woodland area suffering the effects of the fire is on the upper slopes of the island, around the Teide National Park.
“Similarly, ports and airports continue to operate normally, as do the main roads on the island, except in the hillside areas, where access to the Teide National Park has been cut off from the rest of the island.
“The island of Tenerife, with a population of nearly one million people, has the experience to deal with situations requiring the safety of these inhabitants to be guaranteed, along with the thousands of tourists who visit the island, where some 160,000 are accommodated on any given day.
“This has been the case throughout its decades of history as a tourist destination, as seen, for example. in the first hotel to be locked down because of Covid-19 in 2020, a recognised success story.”
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