The Cabildo de Gran Canaria has activated the Island Emergency Plan (PEIN), which declares the alert for forest fires on the island at an altitude above 1,000 meters in the north and above 400 meters in the south, as the island faces a weekend in which 40 degrees could be exceeded in the Midlands and the peaks of the island territory.
The average temperature in the area affected by the alert will be around 31 degrees, an unfavorable and atypical situation in November combined with decrease in humidity relative humidity less than 30% at altitudes above 400 meters, light haze at altitude and probable wind gusts which, locally, can exceed 50 kilometers per hour, all in a context of long-term meteorological drought and high degree of stress water of vegetation.
The measurement involves the ban on using fire in all types of open spaces, such as shelters, camping areas and recreational areas (including the use of barbecues installed in these areas), and agricultural burning, which is one of the main causes forest fires and with “also unfavorable” weather conditions present an extreme risk.
Regarding the alert declared today:
Federico Grillo, technical director of Emergencies of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, explains the situation in less than a minute. pic.twitter.com/5LRsaoJhOo
– Cabildo Gran Canaria (@GranCanariaCab) November 21, 2024
The use of machines that generate sparkssuch as radial saws, chainsaws, welding equipment, brush cutters and the like, and neither charcoal nor the use of fire in beekeeping will be permitted.
Access by car to particularly dangerous areas, such as the GC-216, has also been blocked, with the exception of neighbors and public services, as well as the use of the Llanos de la Mimbre camping area and the area Tamadaba recreational area, as well as agricultural burning. or forestry. The suspension will be temporary, as long as the risk remains, for all authorizations granted for the burning of stubble, permanent pastures, pruning remains and forestry remains.
Finally, they emphasize that the introduction and use of pyrotechnic equipmentas well as the use of machines and equipment in mountains and rural areas located within a band of 400 meters around them, the operation of which generates an explosion, sparks or electric discharges; in addition to coal mining activity and the use of fire in beekeeping, as well as access and transit through mountains and forest lands, including tracks and trails, for weather and fire risk reasons, with the exception of residents, utilities and surveillance personnel, fire prevention and suppression, as well as grazing activity.
