Spain’s Canary Islands Endures Six Day Forest-Fire Storm
Spain’s Canary Islands Endures Six Day Forest-Fire Storm
15 August 2016
published by https://www.the-newshub.com
Spain (Canary Islands) A nearly week-long forest-fire that has plagued the Canary Islands, according to sources, may have had a somewhat bizarre explanation: a German immigrant may have cause the incident by setting toilet paper on fire.
A German radio station identified the fire-starter as “Scott S,” referring to him as a dropout who fled his country to live in the caves of the Canary Islands. According to the station, he admitted to the burning, which reportedly was caused by him setting paper-trash on fire. According to reports, the man in question has been detained by police and is charged with gross negligence, and is currently being held in police custody.
The fire may have destroyed more than 11,100 acres of pine forest, which can account for six percent of the island. The incident also reportedly caused a smoke trail that was able to be seen in space. 3,000 residents of the island have been rendered homeless by the incident, and many farms on the island have also reportedly been destroyed. Over 350 firefighters and a dozen helicopters were put to work to take care of the blaze. Despite this, no one is believed to have been injured, although one life has been confirmed to have been lost: a firefighter named Francisco José Santana.
The president of the Canaries, Fernando Clavijo, has released the following statement:
“The fire has evolved favorably in recent hours although, again, the night has proved difficult.”
Sky News
Nieves Lady Barreto, the islands minister for territorial policy, sustainability and safety, also released a statement, explaining which areas faced the worst of the fire: “El Paso, where almost 5,900 acres of land have been burned, followed by Fuencaliente (4,000 acres), Mazo (2,000 acres) and Los Llanos de Aridane (70 acres).”
Barreto has also released the following on the stabilization of the fires and what needs to be done now.
“Weve taken an important step forward, but we need to keep up our reinforcement efforts to make sure the gains arent lost.
