More than 26,000 people have been forced to flee the vast fire raging on the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife, in the Canary archipelago, off the west coast of Africa, emergency services said, Saturday August 19.
The blaze, which has been raging since Tuesday evening, broke out in a mountainous part of the northeast of the island. It spread overnight from Friday to Saturday due to particularly favorable weather conditions: strong winds and higher than expected temperatures.
It is “the most complicated” of the last four decades for the Canary archipelago, according to the authorities, who on Friday evening reported the evacuation of around 4,500 people since the start of the fire. Saturday morning, five other municipalities were evacuated.
Forest Service Chief Pedro Martinez told reporters midday on Saturday that the perimeter of the fire had “definitely grown a lot” overnight and was “steadily descending” the mountain in the Santa Cruz region. Ursula.
