The giant fire on Tenerife is gaining strength

The large forest fire ravaging Tenerife has gained new strength and is spreading uncontrollably.

– Extinguishing the fire is beyond our capacity, says fire chief Pedro Martinez.

Many thousands of people have been evacuated from areas affected by the worst fire in the Canary Islands in over 40 years.

The wind has picked up on the island and the temperature has risen after a Friday where the forces of the weather were on the firemen’s side. During Saturday, the fire increased in strength and is now over 5,000 hectares in size.

– The weather conditions last night were quite frankly much worse than we predicted and the fire spread faster than we feared, says Fernando Clavijo, regional president of the Canary Islands, at a press conference.

How many were forced to leave their homes is still unclear. Late on Friday, it was about 4,500 people, but on Saturday, a number of communities have been completely emptied of residents.

According to Spanish media, Social Affairs Minister Candelaria Delgado says that 26,000 people have been affected, but not all have been evacuated.

The favorable weather for the fire is expected to continue over the weekend and more areas are believed to be reached by the fire or its smoke.

On Saturday, the smoke had risen more than eight kilometers into the atmosphere, well above Tenerife’s and all of Spain’s highest peak, the Teide volcano, whose northern slopes lie within the fire’s vicinity. All roads up Mount Teide, which is a popular tourist destination, are closed.