Fri 06 October 2023:
Authorities in Tenerife have evacuated about 3,000 people from their homes overnight as a wildfire sparked by high temperatures and strong winds raged in a forest already ravaged by blaze in August.
Unseasonal hot weather plus strong winds has reignited a wildfire that originally began on Aug. 15.
The blaze has already burned around 12,273 hectares of land, in the worst wildfire ever to hit the Canary Islands, which are located off the north-west coast of Africa. Around 12,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in and around Santa Ursula and La Orotava in the north-east of the island.
The fire was brought under control by firefighters on Sept. 11, but had not been fully extinguished.
Temperatures of over 30 degrees centigrade (well above average for October), coupled with strong winds in recent days, reignited the embers on Wednesday. Subsequently, the government’s Civil Protection Emergency Wildfire Plan declared a ‘Level 2’ emergency and ordered the evacuations.
Around 120 firefighters are currently battling the flames, which have so far consumed a further 30 hectares of terrain.
The Canary Islands regional leader, Fernando Clavijo, said that the August fire had been brought under control but was never completely extinguished, with embers still burning in the forest.
“There is less fuel [for the fire], so it shouldn’t get out of hand,” Mr 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 39C (102F) on Thursday.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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