SUMMARY of the press conference headed by the President of the Government of the Canary Islands and the director of fire fighting for the Environment of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Federico Grillo.
 
The Fire is currently out of control it has reached the ancient pine forest at the Pinar de Tamadaba.
 
The entire perimeter is beyond extinguishing capacity, including the tail of the fire.
 
Fire fighters are in extreme danger on land due to changing winds and large amount of combustible material. Difficulties to in the air media due to the large amounts of smoke, heat and the current weather conditions.
 
The head of the has been advancing to the north (toward the Costa de Agaete) firefighters currently do not plan to attack it, just ensure timely evacuation and defence where ever possible.
 
It is currently estimated that the fire will continue to evolve uncontrolled for at least the next 48 hours.
 
9 helicopters, 4 seaplanes and 1 air tractor have all be fighting the blaze throughout the day, they are having difficulty due to dense smoke and large flares (up to 50m high).
 
More than 5000 thousand people have been evacuated.
34 km squared has currently burned, more is expected to burn, many houses too are known to have been seriously affected.
 
It is believed that within the next three days the weather will be favourable enough for fire crews to be able to gain control of the fire, until that time everything that can be done will be done to try and contain the wild inferno.
 
Declaration of a Level 3 emergency, the highest level, has been ruled out, as this is not deemed a national emergency.
 
The Pinar de Tamadaba is absolutely inaccessible and no land crews will be allocated to that area because it would be suicide.
 
The fire has the potential to reach La Aldea and jump to Mogán, depending on the weather and the trees. If this occurs, stopping its progress in this direction would become a priority.
 
Tomorrow another EMU contingent is to be deployed, from their base on the mainland.
 
This is now the largest deployment against forest fires event the history of the Canary Islands.
 
There is no information yet on how many properties may have been directly affected, but it is thought that are many burned by the fire.
 
No authorisation has yet been given for those who have been evacuated to return to their homes. The changing winds, exceeding 50km, and the sheer force of the fire has led to the decision to maintain the evacuation order.