The fire isn’t out, and won’t be completely out for weeks, but it’s controlled. See http://lapalma-island.com/the-fires-controlled/ But on Sunday night, I had the uncomfortable experience of shutting up a house in the fire’s path. Not my house – this was a friend who couldn’t do it for herself. So you water the garden around the house as much as possible to form a firebreak, and you wet any woodwork as…
La Palma is on fire. See http://lapalma-island.com/another-forest-fire/ My house is quite safe, but not all my friends are. A lot of the south west of the island has burned, but the fire appears to be under some sort of control on most fronts. Most of it is too depressing to talk about. Anyway, as a result I learned about a new type of cloud. A virga cloud produces rain that…
The forest fire in Mazo is under control, after burning 1,700 hectars. And this seems like a good moment to mention that Canary Pines are amazing survivors. They can burn for hours, and then only a few days after the autumn rains begin, the new shoots sprout straight out of the bark. It’s beautiful to see.
La Palma has another forest fire, just south of Mazo. La Gomera has a forest fire burning the national park at Garajoney. Animals have been burnt alive and people have been evacuated (although I don’t think anyone’s lost their home yet.)
[UPDATE 11 PM: People will soon be able to go back to their houses in Tigalate and Tiguerote, but the authorities are planning the evacuation of Montes de Luna.] We have another fire, in Mazo, near La Sabina. One front is burning uphill, pushed by 35 km/h winds. The other is heading for Fuencaliente. About 70 people have been evacuated from the villages of Tigalate and Tiguerote. The road is…
A forest fire is burning near Montaña Quemada in El Paso. The last I heard, it had burned 400 hectares and the fire-fighters were trying to keep it inside the lava flows which form a natural fire-break. 100 people have been evacuated from Tajuya, Piedra Blanca, Juliana y La Moradita, and the old tunnel through the Cumbre had been closed (the new, lower tunnel is bi-directional). There’s a much bigger…