Massive Wildfires Are Raging “Out Of Control” On Spain’s Tenerife, Forcing Thousands Of People To Flee
Spain’s Tenerife Island is battling its worst wildfire in at least four decades.
More than 7,500 people have been evacuated or told to stay indoors on Spain’s Tenerife island, which is battling its worst wildfire in at least four decades.
The fire to first broke out on Wednesday Aug. 16 in a mountainous national park and has since scorched through at least 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of land, according to Reuters.
Temperatures in the Canary Islands have hit more than 40˚C (104˚F) in recent days as the island swelters under extremely hot and dry weather.
Tenerife officials have called it the “most complex fire” in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years.
More than 4,500 people have been evacuated from their homes while thousands of others have been told to stay at home to stay safe from the ash and smoke blanketing the island.
Officials have deployed more than 250 firefighters and 17 waterbombing aircraft to fight the blazes but say they are spreading “out of control”.
“When you go outside you start suffocating. It’s as if you have something stuck in your throat,” Alba Gil, a 37-year-old resident in the village of La Esperanza told Reuters.
Officials said they are rushing to control the fires as temperatures are expected to increase even further over the weekend.
Scientists say climate change has led to more frequent and extreme weather events.
