On the Canary Island of Tenerife, more than 26,000 people have now been evacuated because of forest fires that have been raging since Wednesday. That report Spanish media Saturday. On Friday, it was still about 4,500 people. The evacuees, who live in eleven different municipalities in the north of the island, are housed in gyms, among other places. Many islanders also stay with family and friends who live in safe areas.
The number of hectares of destroyed forests has increased from 3,300 to 5,000 (circumference of fifty kilometers) within a day. Hundreds of firefighters try to extinguish the fire, but for now they do so in vain. This is because it is difficult for them to reach the burning areas, there is wind and it is still very dry on the island. On Saturday, some helicopters flew over the wildfires, throwing large buckets of water down.
Local authorities say the wildfires are the biggest “in the Canary Islands in 40 years”. Despite this, no houses have been destroyed so far. No fatalities or injuries have yet occurred, but some residents did require medical attention. Spanish outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez plans to travel to Tenerife on Monday.