A forest fire has destroyed an area on the Canary Island of La Palma, which belongs to Spain, in one day, the equivalent of about 6500 football pitches. The fire, which has been burning near the town of Puntagorda in the northwest of the island since Saturday morning, has already covered nearly 4,700 hectares, the state television channel RTVE reported on Sunday, citing authorities.
4,255 people were brought to safety from their homes in Puntagorda and the neighboring town of Tijarafe. According to official information, the fire is being fought by about 300 emergency services, supported by a total of eleven fire-fighting aircraft and helicopters. At least 11 houses burned down completely, it said.
The weather conditions are slowly improving
But there was also good news on Sunday: the weather conditions have now become much better, a spokesman for the island government emphasizes. There is a significantly higher humidity and also lower temperatures. This will help the fire brigade fight the flames.
The westernmost of the Canary Islands made headlines for months in 2021 after the Tajogaite volcano spewed massive amounts of lava that flowed to the sea in red-hot streams. At least 7,000 people then had to flee from the lava – country houses, banana plantations and vineyards were buried under metre-thick lava.
Source: Krone
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