A forest fire in the Canary Islands is getting out of control… and thousands are evacuated

Spanish authorities have revealed that at least four thousand people have been evacuated after a forest fire on the island of La Palma got out of control, at a time when Europe is gripped by a wave of hot weather.

The fire broke out in La Palma in the early hours of Saturday in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a densely wooded area in the north of the island, which is located in the Canary Islands, which required the evacuation of people from the villages of Puntagorda and Tijarafe.

Ten air units and 300 firefighters are on the ground to control the blaze on the island, which forms part of a Spanish archipelago off the coast of West Africa.

In turn, Fernando Clavijo, head of the local government in the Canary Islands, said that the fire destroyed at least 20 homes.

The authorities stated that the fire destroyed about 11,490 acres of land.

And the Spanish royal family announced that the country’s King Felipe VI made a phone call to Clavijo on Saturday, expressing his support for the residents of La Palma.

This fire is the first natural disaster on the island since the eruption of a volcano in September 2021.

The volcanic eruption destroyed more than 2,000 buildings and forced thousands to leave their homes when lava began flowing from the Cumbre Vieja volcano.