Regional president Fernando Clavijo said some 250 firefighters and members of the Spanish military are fighting the fire, located in the north of the island and a key tourist destination. He added that the fire had a perimeter of almost 30 kilometers (19 miles) long.
He stressed to journalists that this is probably the most complicated fire that has had to be faced in the Canary Islands in at least the last 40 years and affirmed that the extreme temperatures on the island were added to specific weather conditions caused by the fire that turned the area into a virtual oven.
The fire, which started on Tuesday night, is centered in a steep mountainous area that is difficult for emergency brigades to access. The Spanish authorities indicated that their main objective is to contain the fire and prevent it from reaching more populated areas. The island’s main town, Santa Cruz, is 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the flames.
The forest fire threatens six municipalities. About 7,600 residents in the area were evacuated or ordered to stay home Thursday due to dangerous air quality.
Clavijo said firefighters were working day and night, but the fire is still out of control.
The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain.
Tenerife is one of the most important tourist spots in Spain. The Tenerife Tourist Office stressed in a statement on Thursday afternoon that the main tourist areas and cities of the island are far from the fire. Activities continue as usual in accommodation establishments, beaches and other tourist sites located in areas near the coast and in the center, the office detailed.
But access to the Teide National Park, Tenerife’s main tourist attraction after the beaches, will be closed to the public from 6:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. GMT) on Thursday, the Canarian regional government reported. All tourist facilities around the Teide volcano area will be evacuated, including accommodation, as well as the staff of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
More evacuations are expected in the next few hours in several neighborhoods. The forest fire is particularly aggressive on its north side.
Temperatures in the Canary Islands have reached a high of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days. Temperatures are expected to rise again on Saturday.
The fire could become the worst in Spain so far this summer, as the country suffers another year of severe drought.
More than 2,000 people were evacuated by a forest fire on the nearby island of La Palma last month that affected some 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres).
Forest fires have consumed about 64,000 hectares (158,000 acres) in Spain in the first seven months of the year, according to Spanish government data. That is the third highest number in the last decade.
Spain accounted for about 40% of the nearly 800,000 hectares (2 million acres) that burned in the European Union in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
