Another wildfire on Spain's Tenerife forces 3,000 people to evacuate
A wildfire is raging on the Canary Island of Tenerife again, forcing the evacuation of around 3,000 people from their homes at a time of unseasonably hot temperatures.
Firefighters backed by six water-dropping helicopters were battling the blaze which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in an area of steep ravines in the northeast of the island that was badly ravaged by a huge wildfire in August, the regional government of Tenerife said.
Some 2,400 people were evacuated from the town of Santa Úrsula, and another 600 from La Orotava, as a precaution, Lope Afonso, the vice president of the regional government of Tenerife wrote on Facebook.
Television images and videos posted on social media showed smoke rising from a hill close to houses in a remote neighbourhood and helicopters dropping water on flames.
Incendio desde el centro de la Orotava. 22:35 horas
Mala pinta….#IFArafoCandelaria pic.twitter.com/q59PR0vDDu
— Damián Escobar P. (@DamianEscobar95) October 4, 2023
Popular tourist areas on Tenerife, part of the Canaries archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, have so far been unaffected and its two airports have been operating normally.
Hoy 04/10/2023 incendio visto desde La Orotava Tenerife. pic.twitter.com/1ksI1y1mLW
— Marc (@r61643504) October 4, 2023
The seat of the fire "has been stabilised, we are seeing how it evolves to determine if in a few hours residents can return to their homes," Blanca Pérez, the island's councillor in charge of emergencies, told local radio.
The outbreak of the fire comes as Tenerife and the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria are under a heat alert, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) across much of the island, levels normally seen during the height of summer.
In mid-August, Tenerife suffered the worst wildfire on the island in at least 40 years.
The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. At their nearest point, the islands are 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Morocco.
As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned that heatwaves will become more frequent and more intense.
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Firefighters backed by six water-dropping helicopters were battling the blaze which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in an area of steep ravines in the northeast of the island that was badly ravaged by a huge wildfire in August, the regional government of Tenerife said.
Some 2,400 people were evacuated from the town of Santa Úrsula, and another 600 from La Orotava, as a precaution, Lope Afonso, the vice president of the regional government of Tenerife wrote on Facebook.
Television images and videos posted on social media showed smoke rising from a hill close to houses in a remote neighbourhood and helicopters dropping water on flames.
Incendio desde el centro de la Orotava. 22:35 horas
— Damián Escobar P. (@DamianEscobar95) October 4, 2023
Mala pinta….#IFArafoCandelaria pic.twitter.com/q59PR0vDDu
Popular tourist areas on Tenerife, part of the Canaries archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, have so far been unaffected and its two airports have been operating normally.
Hoy 04/10/2023 incendio visto desde La Orotava Tenerife. pic.twitter.com/1ksI1y1mLW
— Marc (@r61643504) October 4, 2023
The seat of the fire "has been stabilised, we are seeing how it evolves to determine if in a few hours residents can return to their homes," Blanca Pérez, the island's councillor in charge of emergencies, told local radio.
The outbreak of the fire comes as Tenerife and the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria are under a heat alert, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) across much of the island, levels normally seen during the height of summer.
In mid-August, Tenerife suffered the worst wildfire on the island in at least 40 years.
The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. At their nearest point, the islands are 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Morocco.
As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned that heatwaves will become more frequent and more intense.
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