General public should avoid forest and woodland areas Tenerife 09.07.2013

To prevent forest and wild fires, from today Tuesday, 9 July 2013, the Government of Tenerife (Cabildo de Tenerife) has enforced a ban on certain activities in the mountains all over the island, following the Spanish Met Office’s forecast (AEMET) for extremely high temperatures expected to last until the weekend.

The ban prohibits from today the lighting of any fires in the recreation and barbecue areas in the mountains, any burning of agricultural or forest waste and lighting bonfires.

Also banned is work with machinery or tools and the use of anything that could cause sparks in agricultural and forestry areas, such as brush cutters and welding equipment.  Fireworks displays in the area of risk and in areas close to dry vegetation where wildfire could spread are banned. Also, the public is advised to avoid transit through forested areas until the ban is lifted. These measures will remain in force as long as the dry weather conditions persist greatly increasing the risk of wildfires. As part of the plan for the prevention of forest fires, the Cabildo of Tenerife has issued a plea to the general public to avoid going into the mountains during the heat wave whenever possible.   The island’s Department for Forestry and Fire Management has already put its emergency services on standby so they are ready to act if a high risk situation occurs.