- Tenerife’s Escalating Wildfire Crisis: Thousands Evacuated
- Unprecedented Fire Challenges Canary Islands
- Climate Change Fuels More Frequent Extreme Weather Events
Last week’s heatwave left many areas tinder-dry, producing ideal conditions for wildfires, and temperatures are expected to rise again in the coming days.
Thousands of Tenerife residents have been displaced as firemen and the military combat a “out of control” fire.
After the fire started Wednesday, over 4,500 people were instructed to flee towns and campers, but hundreds more stayed.
The fire has already consumed a minimum of 6,425 acres.
Regional leader Fernando Clavijo remarked, “This is probably the most complicated fire on the Canary Islands, if not ever, in at least the last four decades.”
He said the fire was “out of control” and a race against time until the weekend when temperatures will soar.
The island’s capital, Santa Cruz, is 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the fires.
Tenerife’s tourism agency said the fire wasn’t near any of its major tourist spots or cities, which are open.
Firefighting aircraft were able to contain the blaze south of Mount Teide, the highest point in Spain, but the northern flank remained out of control.
“When you step outside, you begin to suffocate. Alba Gil, 37, a resident of the village of La Esperanza, commented, “It’s as if something is stuck in your throat.”
As a result of poor air quality, more evacuations are possible, according to Montse Roman, commander of civil protection. More than 3,800 people have been told to remain indoors.
The mountains are inaccessible, but the island’s two airports are reportedly operating routinely.
There are currently seventeen aircraft and approximately 350 firefighters and military personnel involved in the firefighting endeavor.
Mr. Clavijo reported that the perimeter of the fire was nearly 19 miles (30 km) long.
Celestino Suarez, 53, a resident, stated, “We are watching the large mountain and the fire, we saw the firewall and we’ll see if they can control it; the situation appears to be quite dire.”
The island’s ground bone was dried by last week’s heatwave of over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
This summer, Tenerife is the most recent location to experience an unusually severe conflagration.
Last month, a fire in nearby La Palma affected approximately 11,000 acres and led more than 2,000 people to safety.
The deadliest conflagration in recent months occurred in Hawaii, where at least 106 people perished when flames ravaged a popular town on Maui.
According to scientists, climate change increases the frequency of extreme weather events.
