Canary Islands: Thousands evacuated as wildfire hits La Palma

At least 4,000 people have been evacuated as a forest fire burned out of control on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said on Sunday, as Europe struggled to cope with a heatwave.

The fire in La Palma started in the early hours of Saturday in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area in the north of the island in the Canaries. The blaze forced the evacuation of people from the villages of Puntagorda and neighbouring Tijarafe.

Ten aerial units and 300 firefighters on the ground sought to bring the wildfire under control on the island, which forms part of a Spanish archipelago off the coast of western Africa.

At least 13 houses were destroyed as the fire advanced, said Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands.

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“There has been some resistance by local people to leaving their homes, but I appeal to people to be responsible,” Clavijo told reporters in La Palma.

The fire has affected more than 4,6500 hectares (114,904 acres) of land, authorities said.

In Tenerife, another of the eight Canary Islands, a forest fire, which broke out on Saturday, forced the evacuation of 50 people and destroyed about 60 hectares, authorities said.

The La Palma fire is on the western side on wooded, hilly terrain dotted with homes. Puntagorda’s mayor, Vicente Rodríguez, told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE the fire started inside the limits of his municipality.

The fire coincides with a heatwave hitting southern Europe.

Spain saw record high temperatures in 2022 and this spring as it endures a prolonged drought.

Authorities and forestry experts are concerned that the conditions are ripe for a difficult wildfire campaign after seeing virulent fires as early as March.

La Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago off Africa’s western coast. At their nearest point, the islands are 60 miles from Morocco. – AP