- Tenerife’s wildfire has spread over 22 km of dry woodland and 1,800 hectares in 24 hours.
- 250 firefighters and military personnel are battling wildfires using 14 aircraft.
- The Canary Islands have recently undergone a heat wave and increased the risk of wildfires.
Roads are now being affected by a wildfire in Tenerife, Spain, which has forced the evacuation of many villages. The fire, which started on an island national park with mountains, has spread over 22 km of dry woodland and 1,800 hectares in just 24 hours, engulfing both sides of Mount Teide, Spain’s tallest peak.
Fernando Clavijo, the regional head, declared that the situation is hazardous and that the immediate goal is to take defensive action for Wednesday night.
An “out of control” wildfire
In addition to 250 firemen and military personnel, 14 aircraft are being used in the fight against wildfire. Two more seaplanes are anticipated to arrive on Thursday morning in addition to the water-dropping seaplane that arrived on Wednesday afternoon from mainland Spain.
An expert on wildfires who advises the Tenerife council cautioned that the region’s wind patterns may become more intense if nighttime temperatures fall as predicted to approximately 20 degrees Celsius.
All mountain access points on the island, including the well-known tourist destination Mount Teide, have been blocked, according to Rosa Davila, the council’s leader in Tenerife.
From numerous settlements on the island’s northeast, about 150 people have already been evacuated. To protect them from the smoke, a dog shelter evacuated some of its most fragile canines and those with respiratory conditions.
The Canary Islands have recently undergone a heat wave, which has left many areas incredibly dry and increased the risk of wildfires. This summer, several forest fires on the islands of Gran Canaria and La Palma were successfully put out by firefighting crews.
