With more than 9,000 hectares affected and 10,000 people evacuated, the fire has affected 8% of the surface of Gran Canaria. With a perimeter of more than 100 kilometres and flames that reach 50 metres, the fire is beginning to be controlled, but it is still alive. In fact, since 112 today Thursday has warned that the fire "can be rekindled" and has called for "prudence". To help in the total extinction of the fire, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food maintains a large extinguishing device in Gran Canaria with 11 aerial means and 4 brigades of reinforcement against forest fires. "The affected area is only forest and does not affect any type of crop", says our interlocutor from the Canary Islands. "When fires affect crops, the land becomes unusable for several years due to salt water, which changes the properties of the soil, making it unsuitable for cultivation because of high salinity," he adds. Canadair amphibious planes, Kamov helicopters and drones have been sent from the Peninsula for night surveillance. "From the moment the fire breaks out to the arrival of the seaplanes, the time elapsed is too long and the fires are already out of control. Yesterday, from the airport of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, you could see a large column of smoke," says our contact. The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, travels today to Gran Canaria to assess the impact in situ. According to the estimates of the technical director of Emergencies of the Cabildo of the island, Federico Grillo, tomorrow Friday the fire should be totally controlled. Source - https://www.freshplaza.com