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Thousands evacuated as wildfire on Spain's Tenerife island spreads

17 August 2023 18:54 (UTC +04:00)

Firefighters on Thursday struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 3,800 people, APA reports citing Reuters.

The fire's perimeter expanded to 31 kilometres (19 miles) across dry woodland covering both flanks of steep ravines near the Mount Teide volcano - Spain's highest peak - hampering access to the area and covering much of the island with smoke clouds and ash.

The fire, which broke out on Wednesday, has burned through 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of land.

"The night has been very tough...This is the most complex fire we've had in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years," the region's leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a news conference.

Scorching heat and dry weather this summer has contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe and western Canada. Hawaii's Maui was also hit by wildfires which have killed at least 106 people, forced tens of thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina.