Tenerife: More residents evacuated as wildfire spreads

Residents were evacuated from their homes on the Spanish island of Tenerife on Saturday as changing weather conditions put several communities in the path of a wildfire.

Officials say a combination of hot, dry and windy conditions mean the fire is the most complex the Canary Islands have faced in four decades.

Rising heat and wind, lower moisture

Manuel Miranda, regional councilor for Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water, said temperatures had risen overnight, with lower humidity and increased wind.

"The weather has changed, and we have had to evacuate towns in the north of Tenerife, specifically five areas," Miranda told reporters.

Miranda said the evacuations had been needed due to the "danger and proximity of the fire."

He said that authorities had so far "avoided any human loss... and that is our main objective."

Tourist resorts not affected

The wildfire started on Wednesday in a national park near Spain's highest peak, the Mount Teide volcano.

The cause of the blaze, which broke out close to the small town of Arafo, is still unclear.

Speaking late on Friday, regional President Fernando Clavijo said some 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) — equivalent to around 7,000 soccer fields — had been engulfed within a perimeter of 50 kilometers (30 miles). Some 4,000 people have been evacuated.

Until now, the island's most popular tourist areas have not been affected and both of Tenerife's airports were operating as normal.

The fire comes after a heatwave that left swaths of land on the archipelagos tinder dry.

Scientists have warned that such hot spells are likely to become more frequent and intense with global temperatures rising due to climate change.

rc/ab (Reuters, dpa)