THOUSANDS EVACUATED AS TENERIFE WILDFIRE TAKES ON “UNSEEN DIMENSIONS”

Sat 19 August 2023:

Due to the wildfire’s unprecedented scale in the Canary Islands, almost 4,500 people were evacuated on Saturday from the north-east of Tenerife.

The fire, which started late on Tuesday night in a steep and wooded area, has now burned more than 5,000 hectares of land and has a perimeter of 50 kilometres.

Many people are advised to stay inside, with the exception of the evacuation, to avoid any potential smoke effects. However, emergency vehicles are permitted to go on public highways.

President of the Tenerife Cabildo (Municipal Council) Rosa Davila said in press conference on Saturday that the fire was “taking on a situation that has never been seen before in the Canary Islands.” It has been so fierce that it was “out of our capacity to extinguish it,” she said.

So far the fire has affected 11 municipalities, but “no homes have been lost,” Davlia added.

President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo said the unusual fire is a result of the warm, dry and windy weather in recent days.

He said the rugged terrain made it difficult for firefighters to combat the flames on the ground, and the huge quantity of smoke generated by the fire (which can be seen all over the island) was also “complicating the operation of aircraft.”

The most recent data from the European Forest Fire Information System show that 81,058 hectares of land had been destroyed by wildfires in Spain in 2023. The fourth heatwave of this summer is anticipated to hit Spain over the weekend and the beginning of next week, keeping the majority of the country on “extreme” alert for further wildfires.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent