Spanish authorities said on Sunday more favourable weather conditions have helped firefighters slow down the advance of a wildfire on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands that has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents. Firefighters were trying to contain a wildfire which burned out of control and forced the evacuation of at least 4,000 people on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said on Sunday.
The fire on La Palma started in the early hours of Saturday in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area in the north of the island, necessitating the evacuation of people from the villages of Puntagorda and neighbouring Tijarafe.
Thousands of people have been urged to leave their homes in La Palma, part of the Canary Islands, as emergency workers are fighting wildfires on the island. The fire began early on Saturday morning and has already consumed around 4,500 hectares (11,100 acres) of land and over a dozen homes. More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from La Palma in the Canary Islands due to a forest fire in the north-west. The regional government has issued an official alert for neighbouring islands, including Tenerife and Gran Canaria, due to the risk of the fire spreading, despite efforts from emergency services to control and douse the blaze. Europe faces extreme temperatures in the Cerberus heatwave. The fire has already destroyed 4,500 hectares of land and a dozen homes in Palma
Officials have said that around 4,255 have been evacuated from the Spanish island, but also said that others were refusing to leave their homes. Around 400 troops have been brought in to take the blaze with more soldiers leaving Morón Air Base this morning to help control the blaze.
The fire coincides with a heatwave that is hitting southern Europe.
Temperatures in the Canary Islands, located off the north-west coast of Africa, soared last week as Spain experienced a second summer heat wave.
The weather has cooled a little since Friday but the country is expected to suffer another heat wave this week.
The drought has left the wooded, hilly terrain tinder-dry.
The wildfire and evacuations come nearly two years after a three-month volcanic eruption caused devastation on La Palma. While nobody was killed, around 3,000 buildings were buried along with many banana plantations, roads and irrigation systems.
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