2023-08-16 22:58:33
– Forest fire “out of control”, five villages evacuated in Tenerife
A fire broke out on Tuesday evening in Tenerife, in the Spanish Canary archipelago off the coast of Africa. Five villages have been evacuated and the firefighters are overwhelmed.
Posted today at 12:58 a.m.Updated 2 hours ago
The smoky village of Arafo, on August 16, 2023 in Tenerife.
AFP
Around 250 firefighters battled an “out of control” wildfire on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Wednesday that forced road closures and the evacuation of five villages, authorities said.
The fire, which broke out on Tuesday evening, raged through a wooded area and ravines in the northeast part of the island, in the Canary archipelago off Africa.
“The fire is out of control, the scenario is actually not very positive,” regional government chief Fernando Clavijo told a press conference in Tenerife on Wednesday evening. “Our goal is for it to stop gaining ground. It was a very difficult day,” he said.
About 250 firefighters and 13 planes and helicopters, including three aircraft sent from mainland Spain, worked to contain the blaze in a hard-to-reach area, Fernando Clavijo added.
1800 hectares reduced to ashes
According to him, about 1800 hectares have already been reduced to ashes. The villages of Arrate, Chivisaya, Media Montana, Ajafona and Las Lagunetas were evacuated on Wednesday morning, as a precaution, due to thick smoke.
Local authorities have closed the roads leading to the mountains in the northeast of the island. “We ask the population to respect all these roadblocks,” said the head of the archipelago’s civil protection department, Montserrat Roman.
The blaze comes after a heatwave that swept through the Canary Islands left many dry areas there, increasing the risk of wildfires. According to scientists, extreme weather events have intensified due to global warming. Heat waves are likely to be more frequent and intense, and their impact more widespread.
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