Many residents of Santa Lucía de Tirajana and Agüimes have reported the smell of burning and the constant column of smoke that has been visible for days from both municipalities.
Neighbors of Santa Lucía de Tirajana and Agüimes denounce the intense burning smell and the column of “toxic” smoke that can be seen for three days from various points in the two municipalities. The presence of smoke began to be noticed at the beginning of the week, specifically since Tuesday, when the burning began in the Los Corralillos area, according to neighborhood sources.
During the day on Tuesday, the residents of Vecindario closest to the area where the burning occurred did not give it much importance, "what was seen on Tuesday was normal, sometimes stubble is burned and many are impressed and call the firefighters, but it was nothing out of this world,” says a resident of Guatemala Street, in Vecindario, from where the beginning of the burning could be seen despite the distance.
A normality that began to fade the next day. “What happened on Wednesday was more worrying, with the wind the smell of burning entered the houses and the column of smoke was much larger,” says the same neighbor.
Other residents of the area and the nearby industrial estate also denounce the situation. “When I got the burning smell I thought it was something inside the house, it was a scare. During the afternoon we had to close the windows, put the clothes away and try our best to ventilate the house and get rid of that smell,” says a neighbor.
Neighbors of Agüimes have also complained about the intense burning smell. “Weeks waiting for some air to flow and when it arrives you have to put up with smoke and a burning smell,” lamented a user on social media who stated that from the Arinaga Crossing the smell of “burning plastic” was clearly noticeable.
During the afternoon of Friday, both at the junction with the highway from the Arinaga Crossing and at the entrance to Vecindario, the smell of burning was quite noticeable, as well as the column of smoke, which due to the wind dispersed quite a distance from the point. origin of the fire without hindering vision but increasing the bad smell and the concern of many neighbors.
Some of the neighbors have expressed surprise that this type of practice can be carried out when just a few days ago the Canary Islands were under an orange warning due to high temperatures and the risk of forest fires. A maximum alert for forest risks that ended last Tuesday the 17th, a date that would coincide exactly with the start of the burning.
Just this week the Gran Canaria Council announced the start of the prescribed burning campaign on the island as a preventive measure against possible forest fires. However, the institution indicated that they would take place at the summit; specifically in the area between Pico de las Nieves and Cruz de Los Llanos, which confirmed that this controlled burning had nothing to do with those planned by the Cabildo.
In addition, the strong smell of “burning plastic” that residents of the southeast have complained about in recent days (both because of the inconvenience caused and the potential adverse effects on health) has made them suspect that the fire was taking place. carried out by an individual on some property or private land.
A theory that the Agüimes City Council confirmed this Friday, reporting that it is a burning of stubble and agricultural remains on an old agricultural property located in the vicinity of the GC-104. The municipal institution also announced that it has transferred the facts to Seprona and the Local Police to report the person responsible for the burning and that, in addition, it has requested the action of the Firefighters Consortium to extinguish the fire and thus put an end to the inconvenience caused to the neighbors. .
