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Date Published: 17/08/2023

Five villages in Tenerife evacuated as wildfire rages through the island

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800 hectares of land have already been consumed by the blaze that is still raging out of control on the Spanish island

Five villages in Tenerife evacuated as wildfire rages through the island

A wildfire that sparked in a nature reserve on the north-east coast of Tenerife on Tuesday evening, August 15, continues to blaze across the island and has already scorched more than 800 hectares of land.

Several secondary fires have broken out around the Mount Teide volcano where authorities have cut off access and teams continue to tackle the main blaze close the Candelaria and Arafo both on the ground and from the air.

However, the terrain and steep and mountainous, making it incredibly difficult for firefighters to bring the fire under control.

"The blaze has a huge potential," Tenerife council president Rosa Davila explained. "We have asked for additional means."

She added that hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the villages of Arrate, Chivisaya, Media Montaña, Ajafoña and Las Lagunetas early on Wednesday August 16.

So far, though, there has been no disruption to flights to or from Tenerife's South and North airports.

Much of Spain is under alert for wildfires after a succession of heatwaves ripped through the country, with temperatures well into the 40s leaving many areas of the Canary Islands bone dry.

In July, as wildfires raged in Europe, north Africa and the United States, thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes on the nearby island of Gran Canaria when a fire tore through hundreds of hectares of land. The blaze, believed to have been started by a negligent forestry worker, took several days to be brought under control.

In other news: High alert for storms and rising temperatures—Spain weather forecast Aug 17-20

Image: Pexels

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