The massive forest fire that broke out Saturday morning on the Spanish island of La Palma is still not under control. So far, more than 4,500 hectares have burned, and the dry weather combined with the extreme heat is making extinguishing efforts difficult. Swede Martin Talay, who lives on the island, says that the situation is reminiscent of how it was two years ago when La Palma was hit by an extensive volcanic eruption.
– The picture is the same, he says to TV4 Nyheterna.
Over the past 24 hours, nearly 4,000 people have been forced to evacuate due to the extensive fire. Martin Talay, who lives in the capital, Santa Cruz, which has not yet been affected by the fire, says that the wind, which died down a bit on Saturday night, has now picked up again.
– This makes it more difficult for the fire brigade and other authorities to deal with this situation. It’s pretty quiet in Santa Cruz, but this morning I smelled a faint smell of fire. We are 35-40 kilometers from the fire-affected area, he says.
It is unclear who started the fire
It is currently unclear what started the fire on Saturday morning – it is not known if someone lit it or if it started from natural causes, says Martin Talay.
– But it is very dry, over 5,000 hectares have been affected and now around 5,250 people have been evacuated. We also have an observatory on La Palma that has been evacuated.
He further says that the authorities on the island are handling the situation as best they can, just like during the volcanic eruption that shook the island in 2021 when over 1,000 homes were destroyed and thousands of residents were forced to evacuate.
– Those who have relatives on the island naturally choose to go to them, those who do not have that opportunity, the authorities have arranged places where they can stay until further notice, says Martin Talay.
Reduced fire risk next week
According to the state weather agency Aemet, the risk of further fires in the Canary Islands will decrease at the beginning of next week.
At the same time, the risk of forest fires is increasing on the Spanish mainland and on other islands in the Mediterranean, TT reports.