The Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife is currently experiencing severe forest fires. Several thousand people now had to be evacuated.
More than 2,800 people were brought to safety in the areas of El Rosario and La Orotava alone on Thursday. The number of people evacuated since the fire broke out on Wednesday has risen to about 3,800.
The fire spread through arid forests along steep gorges near Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak, in a mountainous national park. Much of the island was covered in plumes of smoke and ash. Tenerife’s two airports are operating normally, according to Spanish airport operator Aena.
More than 10,000 tourists on the island
According to travel organization Tui, there are currently more than 10,000 tourists in Tenerife spread across the entire group. So far there have been no restrictions on traveling to the island. Tenerife’s travel authority also stressed that the island’s main tourist areas and towns were far from the blaze. It was said that normality prevailed there.
“The night was very tough,” the region’s head, Fernando Clavijo, told reporters. “This is the worst fire we’ve had in the Canary Islands in 40 years.” While some villages have been evacuated as a precaution, residents of other places have been told to stay at home. 3500 people were affected. Pedro Martinez, chief of Tenerife’s emergency services, said the fire had spread north to a valley where several campsites are located.
Fire out of control
17 aircraft and about 350 firefighters and military personnel were deployed. Additional firefighting aircraft arrived from the mainland. The cause of the fire that broke out on Tuesday between the communities of Arafo and Candelaria was initially not clear. It is now raging on several fronts within a radius of about 32 kilometers. So far it’s getting out of hand.
For the municipalities of Güímar, Arafo, Candelaria and El Rosario, the government of Tenerife warned about air pollution from gases and small particles released by burning plants and other materials. The Red Cross is setting up emergency shelter in gymnasiums. Several thousand people in less threatened places were also asked not to leave their homes.
Six kilometer high plume of smoke
“We have not seen anything like this in the archipelago,” says meteorologist Victoria Palma, who advises the island’s government, referring to the characteristics of the fire. This developed a cloud of smoke up to four miles high and created its own meteorological conditions. Even at night, the intensity of the flames did not diminish. These can be seen from afar.
Last week, a heat wave in the Canary Islands left many areas bone dry and increased the risk of wildfires. This summer, firefighters have already extinguished a number of forest fires in Gran Canaria and La Palma, which also belong to the Canary Islands.
In the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa, forest fires are more common, especially in the summer. Tenerife is the largest island of the archipelago and is one of the most important holiday destinations in Spain. It has an area of about 2035 square kilometers, about 930,000 inhabitants and is known, among other things, for the more than 3700 meters high volcano Teide, the highest mountain in Spain.
Source: Krone
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