A video sent by a reader shows the huge columns of billowing black smoke that appeared yesterday evening when a fire broke out at the island’s main dump at Zonzamas. The Canarian Government has activated the Island Emergency Plan for Civil Protection in response.
By 9pm last night all the firemen from the island’s main fire station, as well as airport fire services and voluntary firemen, had been sent to the dump. A helicopter is expected to join the effort this morning.
The fire appears to have broken out in the zone where discarded furniture, fittings and garden waste are held. A shredding machine that cost €700, 0000 may have been destroyed in the blaze.
Enrique Espinosa, chief of the emergency services, said “The problem is that the only way to extinguish these types of fires is with diggers and sand, but the smoke is so intense that we have to wait. This will take some time.” Espinosa also said that the wind had made the fire worse.
The Cabildo has recommended that locals do not approach the Zonzamas area, and those living in areas which may be affected by smoke should keep their windows closed and stay indoors.
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