Spain: Thousands evacuated over La Palma wildfire
July 16, 2023
Favorable weather conditions have allowed firefighters on the Spanish island of La Palma to slow the advance of wildfires that forced thousands of people to evacuate Saturday.
More than 4,000 people were told to evacuate, authorities said, and at least 20 houses were destroyed.
"There has been some resistance by local people to leaving their homes, but I appeal to people to be responsible," Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canary Islands, told reporters.
Clavijo also said the fire "advanced very quickly" due to "the wind, the climate conditions as well as the heat wave that we are living through." Like the Spanish mainland, La Palma has also seen far less rain than usual over the past several years as a result of climate change.
So far, about 4,600 hectares or 11,300 acres of land have been destroyed by the fire, authorities said.
Firefighters battle to put out blaze
Spain's army has deployed some 300 of its firefighters to help local crews battle the blaze. The military has dispatched nine water-carrying helicopters and two airplanes to the scene.
On Sunday, 86 members of Spain's Military Emergency Unity also arrived on the island.
The fire is on the western side of the island on wooded, hilly terrain dotted with homes.
La Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago off Africa’s western coast. In 2021, it was hit by a volcanic eruption that lasted around three months, forcing thousands to evacuate and causing around €900 million ($1.01 billion) of damage.
Patricia Sanchez of the Spanish Red Cross told AFP news agency she felt "powerless" in knowing that "there are people who lost everything because of the volcano and have rebuilt their lives in the north, and now they are evacuated again... and risk losing everything again."
The wildfire on La Palma coincides with blistering heat that has swept southern European countries, as scientists warn climate change could significantly increase wildfires across the globe.
rm,js/dj (Reuters, dpa)