The Canary Islands’ Government’s 1-1-2 Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (CECOES) recorded nearly 200 wind-related incidents through the night, mostly centred on Gran Canaria and Tenerife and to a lesser extent on Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma and La Gomera islands.
The incidents are primarily related to tree falls, awnings, billboards, pergolas, lamp posts, metal plates and container movements, among others.
By island, the most affected municipalities are San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Mogán and Agaete, in Gran Canaria; Adeje, Arona, Granadilla, Guía de Isora, La Laguna, La Orotava, Puerto de la Cruz, San Miguel de Abona and Santa Cruz, in Tenerife.
The fire on the west of Gran Canaria, around Tasarte, has now burned more than 300 hectares, with several homes having burned, though firefighters have said they believe they have most of it under control for the moment, having contained 95% of the perimeter, though strong winds persist. More than 500 residents have been evacuated from the villages of Tasarte and Tasartico, and the situation remains complicated by low visibility and heavy winds occasionally gusting up towards 120kmph, which is within the initial realms of category 1 hurricane strength.
A small fire has been reported also to have broken out up in the summits of Gran Canaria, near the village of Tejeda, where last summer’s wild fires caused so much devastation, we are awaiting more information on this developing situation. Though the early reports suggest that this has been brought under control.
