Wildfire Forces Thousands to Evacuate in Canary Islands

Spanish firefighters on Monday were battling a wildfire that has raged for three days on the wooded slopes of La Palma in the Canary Islands, temporarily forcing the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents. It quickly engulfed large parts of the hilly terrain, burning some 20 houses and buildings and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate. “People come first, then the houses and then extinguishing” the fire, Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands regional government, told reporters on Saturday. Mr. Clavijo said the wildfire had quickly spread because of “the wind, the climate conditions and the heat wave that we are living through.”Temperatures in the Canary Islands have soared during the heat wave. The post Wildfire Forces Thousands to Evacuate in Canary Islands appeared first on New York Times.