The Zonzamas landfill has suffered a fire this Monday, causing a dense column of smoke, visible from different parts of the island. Several fire teams have traveled to the landfill to extinguish the fire.
"The problem is that to extinguish these fires in the landfill you can only use mechanical shovels and sand, but the smoke is so dense that you have to wait," said the Consortium manager. Enrique Espinosa also stated that the wind is so strong that it is causing it to spread very quickly. "This will take a long time," he concluded.
Around 9 pm, the Cabildo of Lanzarote activated the PEIN in the emergency phase (Island Special Emergency Plan) to deal with the fire. At this time, all the Consortium firefighters, 6 trucks, the Boluntis, the airport firefighters, Local Police and Civil Protection of Teguise have traveled to the landfill.
In addition, "a group from Ecological Transition will move to measure atmospheric pollution, which for now is good," added Espinosa. The helicopter will be activated first thing this Tuesday to collaborate in the extinction tasks.
The Island Corporation recommends that the population of Lanzarote not approach the vicinity of the Zonzamas landfill. According to the CECOES indications, it is recommended that the population that may be affected by the smoke from the fire close the windows and avoid going outside.
Apparently, on this occasion it would not have been the tank that burned, but the area where the belongings, pruning and bulky items (armchairs, beds, etc.) are deposited, so the fire will be more difficult to extinguish. Among the damages that the fire may have caused would be a new machine (shredder) recently purchased that cost more than 700 thousand euros.