‘It’s out of control’: Fire in Tenerife forces villages to evacuate – The World

A forest fire that broke out in a national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Wednesday has already consumed 1,800 hectares in 24 hours. Reuters.

The fire’s perimeter has expanded 22 kilometers through dry forests that cover both sides of steep valleys near the volcano of Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak, making access to the area difficult.

“The fire is out of control… the prospects are not positive,” district leader Fernando Clavijo told a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Fourteen air assets and a total of 250 firefighters and soldiers were mobilized. A seaplane was dispatched from the mainland to put out the flames in the early afternoon, and two more planes were expected on Thursday.

I told Vicki Palma, a member of the Tenerife City Council’s Forest Fire Council Canary Islands Radio The expected drop in overnight temperatures of around 20°C is likely to increase wind strength in the region.

Pedro Martinez, the island’s chief of emergency services, does not rule out the possibility of an “intensification of fire activity” on Thursday.

Rosa Davila, president of the Council of Tenerife, said all roads to the island’s mountains, including Mount Teide, were closed “to avoid any accidents”.

according to Canary Islands Radio Reuters quoted about 150 people evacuated from villages in the sparsely populated northeastern region of the island, which consists mainly of farms and holiday homes.

The dog shelter also said it had preventively removed some of its most vulnerable dogs and people with respiratory issues so they would not be affected by the smoke.