SPAIN: A wildfire that ignited in a mountainous national park on Tenerife, a Spanish island, on Wednesday has rapidly grown to cover 1,800 hectares (4,450 acres) within a span of 24 hours as firefighters battled to control the blaze amid tough terrain conditions.
The fire has extended its boundary to 22 kilometres (14 miles) across dry woodland on both sides of steep gullies near Mount Teide, the highest peak in Spain, making it difficult to reach the affected zone.
The fire is out of control and that things didn’t look good, Fernando Clavijo, the region’s head, said at a news conference in the evening in Santa Cruz (Capital of Tenerife).
He went on to say that the goal for tonight is to be defensive so that the fire does not spread further. We will conduct actions to defend the property of residents, he added.
Authorities sent out 14 aircraft and 250 firefighters and military personnel altogether. On Wednesday in the late afternoon, a waterbombing seaplane from the mainland arrived, and two more were anticipated on Thursday in the early hours.
Vicky Palma, a wildfire adviser for the Tenerife council, stated to Canarias Radio that the anticipated decrease in nighttime temperatures to approximately 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) could potentially amplify the strength of winds in the region.
“We don’t rule out that tomorrow we’ll again see intense fire activity,” the chief of the island’s emergency services, Pedro Martinez, added.
All mountain access points on the island, including the well-known tourist site of Mount Teide, have been shut down, according to the head of the Tenerife council, Rosa Davila. She stated, “We are doing this to prevent any incidents.”
Canarias Radio stated that about 150 people have so far been evacuated from 12 settlements in the northeastern part of the island, which is mainly made up of farms and vacation homes.
A dog shelter stated that in order to protect its most susceptible canines and those who had respiratory issues from the smoke, it had evacuated them in advance.
The public broadcaster further stated, citing Spanish airport operator Aena, that Tenerife’s two airports were running properly.
The Canary Islands experienced a severe heatwave last week, causing widespread dryness and increasing the likelihood of wildfires.
Throughout this summer, firefighting teams have been working to put out multiple forest fires in Gran Canaria and La Palma, two islands within the Canary Islands group.
Europe is struggling with the effects of sweltering temperatures that have reached alarming worldwide levels and are only getting worse due to climate change.
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