GRAN CANARIA has been the most recent European region affected by fires.
The Canary island, which is part of Spain, has seen fires spread across the Tejeda area, forcing hundreds of villagers to be evacuated from their homes.
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Can I travel safely to Gran Canaria?
Gran Canaria’s latest wildfires did not affect any hotels or tourist destinations.
Travel restrictions to the island have not been imposed on holidaymakers, nor has there been any communication suggesting that travel to this destination is dangerous.
Wildfires are not uncommon in Gran Canaria and police are reportedly investigating a man they believe may have started the blaze in Tejeda.
Authorities are confident that they will be able to contain the fires. Helicopters were deployed in order to do so.
While there may be no safety concerns about travelling to Gran Canaria due to the fires, the UK government has shared travel advice in regards to the ongoing heatwave in Spain.
Travellers to Spain are advised to follow the advice of the Foreign Office:
- Be careful when driving or visiting woodland areas to avoid forest fires
- Extinguish all cigarette ends properly
- Don’t leave any bottles or lighted barbecues in the backyard
NHS guidelines on heat-related illnesses have also been shared by the UK government.
These tips suggest drinking and eating ice cold beverages and staying away from alcohol, caffeine, and warm drinks.
How many wildfires are there in Europe today?
As temperatures soar, wildfires are raging in Greece and Italy as well as Turkey and Spain.
In Greece, more than 19,000 locals and tourists have been rescued from the island from Rhodes after the area was severely impacted by fires.
A state of emergency was declared in the region – and Greek authorities warned six new areas faced “extreme danger” of fresh wildfires.
Greek tourist hotspots Corfu and Evia have also suffered from blazes, while a “level 5” warning of “extreme fire risk” has been issued for Crete.
In Italy, Palermo airport in Sicily was forced to close after fires burned dangerously close to its runways, while in Turkey fires have raged close to resort of Kemer.
Areas of Majorca, Ibiza and Menorca in Spain have also had risk alerts raised to “extreme” and “very high”.