Thousands of People Being Evacuated Due to Fires on La Palma, Spain

Approximately 4,000 individuals are being compelled to evacuate as a forest fire on the Spanish island of La Palma, part of the Canary Islands, has escalated beyond control. This natural catastrophe is occurring amid increasing fire hazards caused by record-breaking heatwaves affecting EU nations.

This was reported by Reuters. 

To contain the spread of the fire, authorities have deployed 10 aircraft and around 300 firefighters who are striving to gain command over the blaze on the island.

According to one firefighter, their objective is to redirect the fire towards a road and subsequently halt its progression.

"At present, we intend to perform a controlled burn along this perimeter. We will initiate the burning of this slope so that the fire descends and ceases near the road," stated one firefighter in a comment to Reuters.

Fernando Clavijo, the President of the Canary Islands, declared that during the fire, which commenced on Saturday and has already consumed over 11,490 acres (4,650 hectares), approximately 20 residences have been destroyed. Despite this, some inhabitants are reluctant to vacate their homes and even resist evacuation.

The neighboring island of Tenerife has also been affected by the fires. Nearly 60 acres of land have been ravaged, and 50 people have been evacuated.

This forest fire marks the first natural disaster to afflict the Canary Islands since the events of September 2021 when the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted and continued erupting for about three months. Throughout that crisis, approximately 2,000 houses were demolished, and thousands of people were compelled to abandon their residences.

The risk of fires has dramatically escalated amidst a record-breaking heatwave that has enveloped the European continent. Meteorologists have already dubbed this heatwave "Cerberus," after the mythological three-headed dog from Dante's poem "Inferno."

Italy and Greece have already declared a state of emergency due to the soaring temperatures, which have reached a record-breaking 50 degrees Celsius. Red warnings for extreme heat have been issued for 16 Italian cities.

In Greece, the nation was forced to close its most prominent tourist attraction, the Acropolis.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Europe was 48.8 degrees Celsius in August 2021. It is believed that this climate record may soon be surpassed.