Thousands evacuated as wildfires hit Spanish tourist island
People were forced to leave their homes in the night as the fire ravaged through the forest
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Authorities on the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife evacuated some 3,000 people from their homes overnight as a wildfire sparked by high temperatures and strong winds raged in a forested area already ravaged by fire in August.
Emergency services said on Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter, they had requested assistance from the army’s Military Emergency Unit, citing the blaze, which ignited on Wednesday, as a high level emergency.
Soldiers and firefighters battled to control the fire which broke in the northeast of the island in the town of Santa Ursula, away from the main tourist areas in the southwest.
600 residents from the neighbouring town of La Orotava were also ordered to evacuate as a precaution.
The same area suffered one of the island’s worst wildfire in decades which burned for days, destroying some 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of woodland within the national park surrounding the Mount Teide volcano, Spain’s highest peak. Thousands were also evacuated then, with most returning to their homes.
The Canary Islands regional leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a business event in Madrid on Thursday the August fire had been brought under control but never completely extinguished, with embers still burning in the forest.
He said firefighting efforts overnight had “gone well”.
“There is less fuel (for the fire), so it shouldn’t get out of hand,” Clavijo said, referring to the already scorched terrain.
The island, in the Atlantic off Africa’s northwestern coast, is on alert for high temperatures that are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout Thursday.
The inferno comes as a heat alert is in place as temperatures are unseasonably high for the time of year, islanders face temperatures above 30C which they usually only endure in the height of Summer.
Elsewhere, countries around the world are bearing the brunt of climate change with abnormally high temperatures for the time of year and the UK recorded the hottest September to date.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments