Fire 'controlled'. Pyromaniacs still at large. Appeal

The fire that started on Thursday afternoon (see HERE) is almost out and officially declared 'controlled',but a smaller brigade of firefighters will have to keep watch to deal with any remaining danger and continue hosing down the area with water to cool the ground and embers.
Meanwhile a new picture of another incendiary device found near this fire has emerged. The device which thankfully failed to ignite fully, was made up of a fuse of highly flammable material, plastics, dry leaves and newspaper. The newspaper page on top is partially readable and contains an article about the disastrous fire in August last year (2012) under the pre-header ''Environmental catastrophe on La Gomera'' and the headline starts with the words ''A Fire with...''
This was intended to be used to start another fire ! Very sick indeed !

Image (c) http://gomeraverde.es

The pyromaniacs haven't been apprehended yet but police now say that they're hot on their heels and forensic examination of the found devices will provide further clues and evidence.

The authorities are again asking everyone to be extremely cautious and aware of the fire danger. They are also asking for vigilance and want any suspicious activity or material encountered to be reported immediately by phoning 112 (ask for an English speaking operator).
A fire alert remains in place for all of the Canary Islands.

Another incendiary device found (c)gomeranoticias.com

UPDATE Monday, Aug.19th 2013:

The fire has been officially declared totally extinguished as of late this afternoon.

All previously closed walks and forest areas have been reopened, but open fires and barbecues are still prohibited. Please remain vigilant.

Latest: Fire on La Gomera again. Arson! +UPDATES

For the past while the hydro-plane newly stationed at La Gomera's small aiport has been flying to and fro past my view and it has been confirmed that a fire has broken out near the small and remote chapel of Santa Clara high up the mountain belonging to, and overlooking the town of Vallehermoso in La Gomeras north-west. the fire was started less than a kilometre from the village of Arguamul in an area overgrown with small trees and bushes. There is semi-mature forest close by and the place borders onto the national park.

Photo taken just now at about 6:30pm

The Canary Islands are on the highest fire-alert level because of the intense heat in the mountains and on Tenerife and on La Gomera many areas have been closed to the public.The festivities of the 'Virgen de Candelaria', the Canaries' national patron saint in conjunction with today's bank holiday make observation of suspicious activity very difficult as thousands of people are on the move and celebrating all over the island(s). Emergency services are stretched and as I write a group of 'lost and dehydrated' hikers is being escorted down the mountain path outside my door. This morning a cyclist was seriously injured in a fall when speeding down a mountain road...

This new fire was most likely caused by arson:

Incendiary device found near fire. Image: gomeranoticias.com

During a search of the areas near the fire two incendiary devices were found in different states of preparation ! This leaves me sad and angry...
UPDATE 8:30pm

The fire is still not under control, but it is hoped that the current absence of wind will allow to stop the fire from spreading before darkness will force the retirement of the four helicopters plus the Air Tractor plane. One of the helicopters is a double-rotor Russian Kamov normally based on the island of Tenerife which also brought reinforcements for the firefighters on the ground. The area of the fire is very difficult to access on the ground and it is hoped the wind will not rise to further complicate the situation. The weather forecast for tomorrow is not favourable with rising winds expected.
The mayor of Vallehermoso has just said now that 'the fire has been stabilized' and that it appears to be closer to being controlled. Let's hope he's right.
Now the island's government has confirmed that the fire 'has been stabilised, but not controlled'.
+ 9:12pm (it is nearly dark now): The latest eyewitness report says that no more flames can be seen, but still a lot of smoke. The aircraft have retired due to advancing darkness, but work on the ground continues.
Images taken earlier and published by 'gomeranoticias.com' below:

Chapel of Santa Clara in the background (gomeranoticias.com)

Kamov at work (gomeranoticias.com)

+11pm: 
The authorities have called on everyone to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity in the countryside or signs of fire immediately. Call 112 (English spoken).
There was a dangerous bushfire on the neighbouring island of La Palma tonight which has by now been ''brought practically under control''. It broke out very close to the town of Tijarafe and an investigation is underway establish the cause. The bitter irony is that a brigade of firefighters was earlier sent from La Palma to La Gomera to assist fighting the fire here, which appears to be 'under control' as well by now. 
Update Aug.16th, 9:45 am:
The fire remains 'stabilised but not controlled' due to the difficult terrain and the adverse weather conditions. At daybreak the temperature in the area was already 29ºC and the humidity extremely low at 18%. The wind has increased to moderate since yesterday's calm.
The 'Fire Boss' plane is in action again and is now regularly taking up sea water from Valle Gran Rey's harbour. Yesterday it appeared to be taking fresh water from the airport.
+ 4 pm:
Official bulletins confirm that the fire remains as in the last update, but there are remaining hot spots and glowing embers. These danger areas are being dealt with by the firefighters on the ground with a helicopter and the Air Tractor Fireboss now remaining on standby at the airport. The weather hasn't improved and if anything has got worse. Again the authorities reiterate their appeal for extreme caution and vigilance in any vulnerable areas.
Update Aug.17th, 11 am:
The fire finally has been declared 'controlled'. 
A smaller brigade of firefighters will keep watch and deal with any remaining danger. A picture of another incendiary device has emerged. The device which thankfully failed to ignite fully was made up of a fuse of highly flammable material, plastics, dry leaves and newspaper. The newspaper page on top is readable and contains an article about the disastrous fire in August last year (2012) under the pre-header ''Environmental catastrophe on La Gomera''. This was intended to be used to start another fire ! Very sick indeed !

One year after the fire came down Valle Gran Rey

A priceless vinyl record collection after the blaze ©Ehlert

 ©Ehlert

Exactly one year ago last night the fire came down the valley, causing an inferno that burnt about 100 houses and made it necessary to evacuate the whole population of Valle Gran Rey to the harbour area.

There were two events to mark the occasion: One was a huge and wonderful party in a secluded house and gardens where about 200 people danced all night and retold their stories of the night of the blaze. The other commemoration was high up in the valley at the church of San Antonio where local pressure group 'La Gomera Se Mueve' held a ceremony with ringing of the church bells and projecting  slides of the blaze onto the church wall. It still seems like a miracle that there were no casualties in Aug.2012. Full story HERE

 Remains of a stool with a remote control welded into it by the inferno. 
The remote was on the other side of the room before ! ©Ehlert

Today you'd hardly notice there was an inferno here 1 year ago

NEWS: La Gomera fires finally declared 'under control'

The remaining smouldering fires have been officially declared 'under control', but work continues to assure that no 'hot spots' remain.

The fires that started more than seven weeks ago damaged a total area of 3000 hectares or 8% of the island. The national park lost 18%, or 720 hectares and more than 100 houses were damaged or destroyed.

The expected rain (see previous post) should end this sad episode and will help nature to recover.

Fires still not completely extinguished

Tomorrow it will be six weeks since the initial fires started. Today they are still smouldering mostly underground in several places, and surfacing every now and again to cause renewed flames. Experts estimate that only the first rains after the summer can put  them out completely.

Meanwhile rebuilding and further cleaning up is in progress. Plans are being drawn up to prevent any future fires to spread as rapidly as they did in the densely populated Upper Valle Gran Rey. These would include the planting of more fire-resistant trees in the centre of the valley, projects to cultivate and irrigate abandoned agricultural land, and the removal of highly inflammable materials (i.e. dead vegetation, building materials, plastic, etc.).

The good news is that the temperature has been dropping considerably during this week and is now back to normal levels for September.

During a tour of the island yesterday the air even felt very fresh while testing a newly-opened walk along a cascading little stream in the beautiful 'El Rejo' area. The water in the stream is pure and tastes really good - and it was as cold as if it had been in a fridge.

The tour also showed the vast areas in all parts of the island that are completely untouched.

Unfortunately I forgot to bring a camera, so I leave you with a photo of 'Chorros de Epina' (our 'holy well') , which is the same as ever today, despite the drought:

For those interested in a accommodation/walking package I include the following link:
http://gomerawalking.co.uk

Demonstration in San Sebastian on Sat.,Sept.1st, 12 noon

There will be a huge demonstration in the capital of La Gomera, San Sebastian this Saturday, 01-09-12, at 12 o'clock, starting from Plaza de Las Americas.

This demonstration will also be supported by many voluntary organisations from neighbouring islands, and is intended as a show of strength of the people here, demanding a thorough investigation of the fires, and will be a show of support for those directly affected. It will not be party-political,  and ALL ARE WELCOME.

Important & interesting Link:

The official La Gomera tourism site (in English) with 'Questions and Answers' about the fire (surprsingly without the usual bullshit) here :

http://www.lagomera.travel/en/

Friends of La Gomera

There is a lot of goodwill towards La Gomera now. Messages of support are flooding in, as well as donations (much needed goods and money) and benefit concerts and soccer matches are being organised. The well known 'Nooctua' disco chain from Tenerife, that  did a great road show here

in the harbour of Valle Gran Rey last month with lots of DJs and live shows will do a special benefit show at the same location on the 8th of September. Last time over 2000 attended !

Come over and dance the night away for a good cause !

If you want to contribute money instead, I can guarantee that ALL the money going into the following account will reach the people who lost everything and weren't insured:

CCC: 2100-6756 – 67 – 0200020646

IBAN: ES06 2100 6756 6702 0002 0646

BIC/SWIFT: CAIXESBBXXX

Caja Canarias / Caixa Bank

This account is administered by the newly founded voluntary group and is the ONLY

official account for donation (approved by local government).

See here:

http://plataformavallegranrey.com

...and the official town hall site here:

http://www.vallegranrey.es/turismo/es/informacion-util/noticias/97.html

+++ If you're looking for a great holiday, then go to La Gomera now or in the future. Better again: If you're an artist or a musician, come over here and do a benefit gig !

The latest (not complete) official count for Valle Gran Rey is:

43 houses totally destroyed (the remnants have to be demolished)

48 houses badly damaged, but can be repaired

69 commercial or agricultural buildings destroyed or damaged
Countless animals dead
Crops destroyed
NO loss of human life +++ NO serious injuries, only very minor ones.

Update: Fires on La Gomera island

GOOD NEWS: All roads open again

Clean up operation progressing with many volunteers.

Donations are beginning to come in.

Touristic zones unaffected and business as usual.

Great sense of solidarity and a concerted effort to build a better La Gomera.
Unfortunately there still is a lot of bad and/or sensational, untrue press reports,
which is damaging our fragile and crisis-weakened economy. 

Journalists: STOP spreading unconfirmed or badly researched news, and

COME HERE TO SEE WITH YOUR OWN EYES !!!

If you want to get involved or if you want to donate, click below:

http://plataformavallegranrey.com/en/

The fires on La Gomera are close to being 'stable'

Meanwhile the hardest-hit municipal area of Valle Gran Rey is starting to evaluate the damage. First estimates now have shown that 85 houses were badly damaged by the fire and 46 of those are totally in ruins.

There was no loss of life and no serious injuries - this now looks like a miracle.

In the lower part of VGR  no damage was done and life is beginning to return to normal.

About 25% of the forest in the national park has burnt, but the most beautiful areas, where a lot of the best walking and hiking paths are located have remained totally intact. So please spread the word and come visit us sometime in the near future to show your support. We can guarantee you a very warm welcome and a peaceful gem of an island in the Atlantic.

A special 'thank you' to the fire brigades that managed to halt the rapidly advancing wall of fire in Valle Gran Rey Sunday night with the use of explosives.

Fires on La Gomera still active

While the weather has cooled down considerably, the fires in the forest will not be brought under control today. Morocco sent two planes yesterday to help the extinction efforts,

but last night a new forest fire broke out on neighbouring Tenerife and three of the

seven hydro-planes working here were sent over there by the authorities. 

The fires in the national park here have at least slowed down a bit and the prognosis is

'cautiously optimistic'.

The picture here in Valle Gran Rey is sad, but with a slow return to partial normality.

Supplies are coming in, but the vital 'supply' of tourists has almost stopped.

About 40 houses burnt down, most of them completely, but luckily there was no loss of life. Most livestock was lost however and the disposal of the dead animals is now a priority. Electricity, phone and water connections are being restored in the upper valley, where people have been allowed back to their homes.

More than 11% of La Gomera now affected by fire

...and a quarter of the population was evacuated.

Upper Valle Gran Rey was devastated by fire, Photos here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/117828141158420664108/IncendioEnValleGranReyAgosto2012#5776324417311593026

DRAMATIC NEWS REGARDING FIRES ON LA GOMERA

The fires came down the valley extremely rapidly tonight after 9 pm.

The situation here is extremely tense and the TOTAL population of Valle Gran Rey

was step by step evacuated - we're talking now of over 5000 people.

The fires were so intense and appproaching sooooo rapidly, that gas bottles and cars 

could be heard exploding

I was evacuated mandatorily, too  and with the tense situation previous too that event

didn't post any updates.

Surprisingly down here at the evacuation zone of the port of Vueltas  we still have internet and electricity, but the water supply has stopped.

Fire brigades stationed further up have been evacuated, too.

There were sporadic explosions to be heard (poss. gas bottles and/or cars).

There are thousands of people, some old or in care, lots of tourists milling around

the harbour area, and the world's largest aluminum trimaran (operated by the 

Fred. Olsen  ferry company) has docked in the harbour to take people away from

here.

The other fires are still 'complicated' , but most of them 'out of control'

Weather should improve somewhat today.

I WILL STAY !

More news if and when...

La Gomera fires update

The situation seems to be worsening again, there is a constant stream of the now 3 (with a 4th one expected later)

hydro-planes coming in over my house, to come down in the harbour to take water and then directly back up again to an area near the upper part of Valle Gran Rey, known as 'barranco de agua'. This area is also showing a lot more smoke in the past half hour and it

appears (and is NOT confirmed) that there is smoke coming from an area within the barranco further down. Helicopters are also working in this area - so that the situation there must be critical, and is not far from farms and houses. There is also now more smoke (again) to be seen on the mountain over upper V.G.R., and a reactivated fire  west of El Cercado has been reported by 'TV Canaria'.
All other fires are reported as still very active, and many areas that already have burnt down are smouldering strongly in in the hot winds.

More and larger ash particles have been coming down here.
All the road closures are still being strictly enforced.

Here's a link to a webcam operated by a local tour operator which clearly shows the smoke to the upper left of the palm tree in front (and you can also see that life continues calmly and safely in lower VGR), but don't confuse the stains on the lens with smoke:

http://www.timah.net/en/inhalt/webcam-calera.htm

Another webcam, which is trained on one of the beaches, shows that life goes on, only
interrupted slightly by the planes occasionnally flying over :
http://www.radioclm.com/webcam-playa-de-la-calera/


...and here's a link to an interesting video showing the hydro-planes coming in and taking water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTwkABHPJzE

2500 evacuated due to the forest fires on La Gomera

By last night more than 2500 people had been evacuated from various villages on the island of La Gomera as fires were raging out of control despite the efforts of several

helicopters and 2 hydro-planes, as well as hundreds of firefighters on the ground.

Today the situation is  unchanged and the touristic town of Valle Gran Rey remains cut off due to road closures, but local excursion boats are ferrying people by

sea to the capital of San Sebastion.

There are still several active fronts blazing, some of them in the forest of the National Park. The weather conditions keep fanning the fires and there is a red alert for extremely high temperature and low humidity for the rest of the day.

More firefighters and another hydro-plane are expected to arrive later.

Edit 13:20h:
I've just been informed that the Valle Gran Rey municipal tourist office located at the taxi rank in La Calera (near town hall) will be open all day today and acts as an information centre for tourists and evacuees. They have all the information, are very helpful and they do speak English.

The fires on La Gomera  are still raging

The situation has been described by officials as 'critical and very complicated'.
By now about 500 people have been evacuated. Many roads are still closed, and
the official advice is not to travel by road at all. Valle Gran Rey is still cut off, but
occasionally convoys are being escorted in and out, and local excursion boat are
transporting people by sea. 
There now are 2 hydro-planes supporting the firefighters as well as several helicopters.
The planes are coming in over my house about every 5 minutes to 'land' near our harbour
to take in sea water, which surprisingly takes only a few seconds and they're back up, heading for the mountain villages. Most efforts are being concentrated to protect areas
where houses and livestock are at risk. Last weekend's fire all but destroyed the lovely little village of Igualero, where houses burnt down and farm animals and pets died. 

There are still several fire fronts raging in and around the National Park 'Garajonay'
(where we have a 2 million years old UN protected forest) and the latest news is tha the island's president has asked for more aerial support as the fires are getting too numerous and dangerous. The temperatures up there are in the high 30's (Celsius) and the humidity
only around 10% with strong winds that unpredictably change direction.

It is fairly clear by now that this is one of the worst disasters La Gomera has experienced.

... and bad news from Tenerife: A second fire has broken out there and the first fire

is still out of control. This will stretch emergency services even further...

More bad news: The fires are still raging and as a precautionary measure the town of Arure and parts of upper Valle Gran Rey had to be evacuated, as well as the village of Las  Hayas and some more localities. 
Valle Gran Rey is now cut off as the roads have been closed and the authorities have banned all traffic throughout the whole island.
The is an eerie silence and a distinct smell of smoke.
To make matters worse another forest fire started on Tenerife last night and some of the helicopters that were on their way to La Gomera had to be redirected to that fire.
There is a weather warning that very high temperature and strong winds, especially on higher ground (where the fires are !) are to be expected today and tomorrow.

So far - sooo bad. Sorry for the late update. I went to pour as much water as possible over house and garden, as the situation above (i.e. the mountain villages) is far from 'under control'. But the smoke is less - but to see the helicopters retreat with the advancing darkness is painful knowing that the hot night is approaching.
However, lots of villages 'up there' had to be evacuated and even the historic former capital of the island, the town of 'Chipude', had to be evacuated 'as a precautionary measure'. 
Well, the smoke was clearly seen in the SW town of Valle Gran Rey, the 'touristic and cosmopolitan capital' of La Gomera and could  be smelt as well...
I'm exhausted and promise to tell you more tomorrow...
Will work on the the design, etc., of the blog, ASAP....

Latest News:

The fire (or more correctly: one of them) has reached 'El Contadero', a popular starting point for walks - and right in the vulnerable centre of the forest.

The 5 helicopters can't act , as it is dark now.

A special ferry sailing with more firefighters, including units of UME (the Spanish military emergency unit) should be shortly on scene.

It really doesn't look good. The island government has closed the main road through the forest between the junction for the road to Playa Santiago and La Laguna Grande, as well as two secondary roads. Traveling to and from Valle Gran Rey  now involves a detour via 
Hermigua and Vallehermoso.
They also have declared a level 2 emergency which means that the coordination passes from the island government to the central Canary government.
More news later, got to work now.

Now there's a lot of smoke to be seen  over the SW of the island as far as 

Valle Gran Rey. That doesn't look good...