Wave of fires destroys 14 bins and damages six vehicles in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The Policía Local de Santa Cruz de Tenerife is investigating a series of fires that broke out overnight on Thursday at various points across the municipality. According to a statement issued by the force on Friday, the blazes left at least 14 waste containers destroyed, six vehicles damaged — three of them almost completely burned out — and four palm trees affected by the flames.

According to the police statement, as reported by several outlets, officers responded to all the incidents with support from the Consorcio de Bomberos de Tenerife and referred the matter to the Policía Nacional given the scale of the damage caused. Security forces are now gathering information in an attempt to identify those responsible.

The most serious blaze: Somosierra

The worst incident took place on Calle Sansón y Barrios, in the Somosierra neighbourhood, where a fire broke out shortly before 23:00 and engulfed eight waste containers. According to the police account, the blaze spread to six vehicles parked nearby — three of them severely damaged — and destroyed a palm tree.

Information released by the Policía Local, and reported by outlets including eldiario.es, Canarias7, RTVC and others, consistently indicates that the fire started in the bank of containers before spreading to the parked cars. Diario de Avisos adds that the blaze spread "rapidly" to the vehicles in the area.

Further outbreaks on other streets

Following the Somosierra incident, new container fires were reported on Avenida Manuel Hermoso Rojas and on Calles Alcalde José Emilio García Gómez, Panamá and Celia Cruz, where a further six containers burned and three more palm trees were affected.

That breakdown — eight containers in Somosierra and six more on the other streets — accounts for the total of 14 containers cited by sources. Regarding the palm trees, sources record one in Somosierra and three in the second cluster of fires, bringing the total to four.

There is a minor discrepancy in how the number of vehicles is reported. Accounts based on the Policía Local statement (eldiario.es, Canarias7, RTVC, atlanticohoy and libertaddigital) refer to six vehicles damaged, three of them almost completely burned out. In their headlines, Diario de Avisos and El Día mention "three cars" almost entirely destroyed, although the body text of those same reports also notes that six vehicles were affected by the flames.

Investigation under way

According to sources consulted, Policía Local officers and Consorcio de Bomberos crews were deployed throughout the night to extinguish the flames and prevent the fires from spreading to residential buildings or other urban infrastructure.

Miramé TV reports that the security forces are keeping the investigation open to determine whether all the fires are connected and to establish who is responsible for incidents that caused significant material damage at multiple points across the city. El Día and Diario de Avisos report that the Policía Local has taken statements from possible witnesses and is analysing footage from security cameras in the affected areas.

In October 2024, the Policía Local de Santa Cruz de Tenerife had already arrested a 52-year-old man for setting fire to several containers in the capital, following an operation that, according to RTVC, involved plain-clothes patrols, drones and citizen cooperation, with the Policía Nacional also taking part. In that case, the force asked for public assistance via the telephone number 092. There is nothing in the sources to suggest that incident is linked to Thursday night's wave of fires.