Tenerife has been evacuated of holiday homes and villages as a wildfire “out-of-control” sweeps the island.
In just 24 hours, 250 firefighters have battled to put out the raging fire that has destroyed 4,450 acres on the Spanish Island.
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After the fire broke on Tuesday, at least five villages were evacuated.
The flames began ravaging a steeply ravined forest in the north-east of the island on Wednesday evening.
Residents and tourists, many of whom are from the UK have been alerted that the fire is out-of-control as the roads and holiday homes shut.
Fernando Clavijo was the head of regional government on Wednesday. He said: “The situation is dire.
Our goal tonight is to be defensive so as not to allow the fire’s advance.
We will conduct operations to protect the property of residents.
Officials on the island have confirmed there are more fires in the area around Mount Teide.
A minimum of 14 aircraft, 250 military and firefighters personnel and at least 28 helicopters have been deployed.
The helicopters were brought in to spray the water on the fires.
Due to woodlands and ravines, firefighters on the ground had difficulty battling the fire in Candelaria and Arafo.
Vicky Palma told Canarias Radio, the wildfire consultant for Tenerife, that the anticipated drop of temperatures to 20C at night would probably increase the force of wind in the region.
President of the Tenerife Council Rosa Davila told local radio: “The blaze has a huge potential, we have asked for additional means.”
She said all access to the mountains on the island, including tourist-favourite Mount Teide, has been closed off.
On Wednesday morning the villages of Arrate, Chivisaya, Media Montaña, Ajafoña and Las Lagunetas were evacuated.
At least 150 people, mostly farmers and vacationers, have already fled the area in the North East.
One dog shelter reported that it evacuated all of the most vulnerable and respiratoryly ill dogs in order to protect them from smoke.
Head of Tenerife’s emergency services Pedro Martinez warned a number of secondary fires had also broken out.
The photos are shocking. They show thick smoke and huge fires invading the forest.
So far, there does not appear to be any disruption to either arrivals or departures at Tenerife’s South and North airports.
Canary Islands’ heatwave left a large area of the islands bone dry, increasing wildfire risk.
The residents on La Palma off the coast northern Africa were asked to leave last month due to wildfires during scorching temperatures.
Weather experts have declared 2023 an El Niño year – a natural phenomenon that occurs cyclically and causes fluctuations in the global climate.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said it will raise temperatures around the world, and the effect is likely to continue for the rest of the year.
Even though it has been hot, the record-breaking temperature in Europe of 48.8C (recorded in Sicily in 2021) still stands.
Just days ago, around 650 French firefighters were brought in to tackle a fierce wildfire which had broken out in the southern Pyrenees region close to the seaside resort of Argelès-sur-Mer.
The blaze ripped through 1,235 acres, destroying 30 houses, a warehouse, and an entire campsite, while also leaving a firefighter in a critical condition in hospital.
Around 8,000 people were forced to flee last week after firefighters fought another wildfire in Bordeaux’s southwest.
France is in the middle of its fourth heat wave of the year, while blazes have also devastated large parts of Greece, Italy, Algeria and Tunisia.
There have been wildfires also in Canada, Hawaii and Northern Africa.
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