Firefighters working to battle the giant forest fire that has ravaged the Spanish island of Tenerife have made progress, local officials report.
The weather was more favorable than expected on the night of Sunday, and the work to extinguish the fire therefore went “much better than expected”, according to the leader of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo.
Among other things, the firefighters were able to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby houses.
The fire, which is the worst in the Canary Islands in more than 40 years, broke out on Tuesday in a mountainous area in the north-eastern part of the island. So far, eleven municipalities on the island have been affected, and almost 13,000 people have been evacuated, according to figures from the police.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is expected to visit the area on Monday.