[1/9]General view of the fire in Tijarafe on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain July 16, 2023 Portal/Borja Suarez
July 16 (Portal) – Firefighters were trying to contain a wildfire that was spiraling out of control, forcing the evacuation of at least 4,000 people on the Spanish island of La Palma, authorities said on Sunday.
The La Palma fire broke out in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area in the north of the island, in the early hours of Saturday morning, necessitating the evacuation of people from the villages of Puntagorda and neighboring Tijarafe.
Ten air units and 300 firefighters on the ground tried to bring the wildfire under control on the island, which is part of the Canary Archipelago off the coast of West Africa and is suffering from extreme temperatures similar to those of a heatwave in southern Europe.
“Difficult, it’s been a bit difficult because of the changing winds and the heat of the last few days, but we’re persevering,” Jose Fernandez, 46, a firefighter, told Portal.
Firefighters burned down an area to ensure the fire was stopped at a roadway and didn’t spread further.
“Now we will start a technical fire at this perimeter. We’re going to start burning that slope so he can come down and stop by the road,” Manuel, a firefighter, told Portal.
“That’s what we’re going to do to secure this whole area and try to save a house. At night the wind will come down from the top of the mountain and if we don’t demarcate that area it could skip.”
At least 20 homes have been destroyed as the fire spreads, Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said.
“There was some resistance from the locals to leave their homes, but I appeal to the people to take responsibility,” Clavijo told reporters on La Palma.
According to authorities, more than 4,650 hectares (11,490 acres) were affected by the fire.
In Tenerife, another of the eight Canary Islands, a forest fire that broke out on Saturday forced the evacuation of 50 people and destroyed about 60 hectares, authorities said.
King Felipe VI from Spain called Clavijo on Saturday to express his support to the people of La Palma, said the Spanish royal court.
The forest fire is the first natural disaster on the island since a volcanic eruption in September 2021. More than 2,000 buildings were destroyed and many thousands of people had to leave their homes when lava began to pour out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
Ash blanketed the island for months until the eruption ended three months later.
Reporting by Borja Suarea, Silvio Castellanos and Graham Keeley; writing by Graham Keeley; Edited by Barbara Lewis and David Holmes
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