Moment Tenerife wildfire rips through forest before thousands are evacuated on popular holiday island for Brits
Moment A bushfire rages through the forest before thousands are evacuated to a popular holiday island for Brits
- Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to fight the fire
- It comes after massive fires destroyed much of the island in August
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About 3,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes overnight as another forest fire began to rage through parts of Tenerife, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to tackle the blaze, which was reignited on Wednesday after the island suffered horrific fires throughout August.
These fires were the worst to hit this beloved tourist destination in decades: the inferno completely destroyed 14,000 hectares of pine forest and scrubland and forced 12,000 people to leave their homes, some for several weeks.
Although the fires were eventually brought under control in August, they were never completely extinguished.
Small fires continued to break out regularly in the same area due to winds and high temperatures – conditions that allowed Wednesday’s fire to increase in intensity and prompt the evacuation.
So far, an area of only 30 hectares has been affected, but there are fears it will spread further becauseThe island, like the rest of Spain, has been suffering from an intense drought for several years and, until now, unusually high temperatures in October.
About 3,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes overnight as another forest fire swept through parts of Tenerife.
Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to fight the fire
So far, an area of only 30 hectares (70 acres) has been affected and firefighters are battling to control the blaze
A firefighting plane dumps water over Guimar as forest fires rage out of control on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, August 22, 2023
A photo provided by the Military Emergency Unit (UME) shows a UME member working to extinguish the forest fire in Arafo-Candelaria, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, August 21, 2023
The new fire affects the towns of Santa Ursula and La Orotava in the mountainous northeast of the island, far from the main tourist areas of southwestern Tenerife.
In August, around 12,000 people were evacuated from Tenerife when ‘out of control’ forest fires devastated the island.
It was a particularly bad month for forest fires, with much of Greece also falling prey to out-of-control fires.
European Union officials have blamed climate change for the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Europe, noting that 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfire damage on record after 2017.