File image GES helicopter
At the moment two Canadair amphibious airplanes are being directed from Torrejón de Ardoz (near Madrid) to Gran Canaria, which were requested since the fires began and made available by the Government of Spain. These seaplanes were not able to leave before now due to weather conditions and operational problems that have occurred over recent days in Canarian airports, as a result of the yellow alert for weather and wind.
At around 6:00 p.m., the two Canadair are scheduled to arrive on Gran Canaria for immediate incorporation, if possible, in to the tasks of extinguishing the fire in the Inagua area, the emergency management resting with the Cabildo de Gran Canaria.
Today, a helicopter from the Emergency and Rescue Group (GES) of the Government of the Canary Islands, based on Gran Canaria, has so far made a total of eleven fly overs dowsing flames with water in the fire zone.
In addition, two other GES helicopters have been on pre-alert, based in La Gomera and El Hierro, but the weather conditions in the Archipelago have prevented them from flying to Gran Canaria.
At this time, the active fire is in the Inagua natural reserve. The left flank, oriented towards the ravine of La Aldea, cannot be tackled with terrestrial means due to the steep terrain so the action of aerial means is required. Most of the actions today by the GES helicopter have focused on slowing the progress of this flank.
On the other hand, on the right flank – from the Degollada de Las Brujas to the Degollada del Agujero – the terrestrial means are acting vigorously with the support of the air deployment.
Imágenes del #IFTasarte desde el helicóptero del #GES que ha podido intervenir hoy, al mejorar las condiciones meteorológicas pic.twitter.com/oJGKLjcSQR
— 1-1-2 Canarias (@112canarias) February 24, 2020
