Fire Breaks Out at Juan Grande Dump in Gran Canaria
A fire erupted early Friday afternoon at the Juan Grande landfill in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria, although the cause remains unclear pending further investigation. Initial suggestions from local authorities indicate that “flammable material” among unprocessed pruning debris may have ignited during the shredding process.
According to the Gran Canaria Emergency Services Centre, two responders were treated on site for smoke inhalation. After the alarm was raised just before 4 p.m., ground intervention units and two helicopters from the Gran Canaria Environmental Department rushed to the scene, where firefighters from the Gran Canaria Emergency Consortium and the San Bartolomé de Tirajana Fire Service were already battling the blaze, alongside local and national police forces and an emergency medical team.
Almost two hours later, the fire was contained despite a visible plume of smoke driven by the wind. By around 6 p.m., after securing the affected areas, the Environmental Department teams withdrew while firefighters remained to extinguish the remaining flames and monitor for hot spots.
Material damage from the incident has affected a shredder for pruning waste and another for bulky items. The Environmental Department plans to conduct a thorough assessment in the coming days.
Additionally, local authorities have coordinated with municipalities in the southern region to redirect truck traffic to the Northern Ecopark starting Saturday as the situation stabilises.
