More than 26,000 ordered to flee as Tenerife wildfire rages
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Authorities stated in a late Friday update that 4,500 people had been evacuated since the fire started on Tuesday night.
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Military firefighters battle a forest fire on Aug. 17 raging in the northeastern part of the Canary Island of Tenerife, in this handout image released by Military Emergency Unit. (AFP)
According to emergency officials, an estimated 26,000 people may have been forced to leave a massive wildfire blazing out of control on the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife.
Census statistics show that "provisional estimates suggest that more than 26,000 people may have been evacuated," the emergency services announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Authorities stated in a late Friday update that 4,500 people had been evacuated since the fire started on Tuesday night. However, the flames spread after a rough night of "severe weather" marked by strong gusts and higher-than-expected temperatures, causing a wave of evacuations from five municipalities in the island's north.
Authorities announced in a news briefing, soon before 11:00 GMT, that they had no immediate information on the number of individuals evacuated. Montse Roman, the emergency's technical director, said the data were still being compiled, but he warned that "further evacuations may take place if the fire spreads."
Leading the effort to extinguish the fires is Pedro Martinez, who told reporters that the perimeter had "most certainly grown a lot" through the night and was making its way down the mountainside "Steadily" in northern Santa Ursula.
Spain is estimated to have lost almost 200,000 hectares of land to wildfires so far this year – 80,000 of them during last week’s heatwave and the one that preceded it in June.
Read more: Wildfires in eastern Spain forces evacuation of 1600+ residents
Wildfires have also ravaged many countries spanning almost all continents, most notably in Canada, the US, Greece, and Algeria.
Temperature records were set in different regions across the world, leaving behind a trail of wildfires and floods from the North down to the South.
Read next: Hawaii wildfires: Maui death toll rises to 80
Scientists assert that global warming, linked to fossil fuel dependence, contributes to the multiplication and intensification of heat waves.
