The Canary Islands are the latest destination to see tourism affected by wildfires, where flames began yesterday. The fires have been spreading from the central region near the Mount Teide volcano toward the middle of the island, and authorities said highly flammable pine trees could cause the fires to escalate toward tourist hotspots including Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Puerto de la Cruz.
“The fire is powerful and is in a complicated area,” Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo told a news conference in Tenerife. The heat isn’t helping either; a status yellow weather warning is currently in place as temperatures could reach 34C (93F) over the next few days.
As of this morning, flights were still running to both Tenerife airports, Reina Sofia Airport and Los Rodeos.
So far 7,600 people have so far been evacuated from:
- Candelaria
- El Rosario (1,294 residents evacuated from their homes)
- La Victoria
- Santa Úrsula
- La Orotava (1,525 residents evacuated from their homes)
- Las Rosas
- La Resbala
- Camino de la Granja
- Los Eres
- Lomo Juan Lian
Residents in La Esperanza have been told to stay inside to protect themselves from the risks of smoke inhalation.
All roads leading into the evacuated areas and to Mount Teide are closed to the public.