La Palma Island Wildfire: Firefighters Having Issues Controlling Fire Due To Shifting Winds

Firefighters encountered problems in controlling the wildfire in La Palma, an island in Spain.

According to a Reuters report, authorities had difficulties in putting off the fire because of the shifting winds.

"Difficult, it was a bit difficult because of the shifting wind and the heat of the last days but we are holding on," said 46-year-old firefighter Jose Fernandez in the report.

The incident forced the evacuation of at least 4,000 individuals in the area.

Start of the blaze and its quick spread

Officials said that the fire had started last Saturday, noting that the blaze had already consumed 4,500 hectares or 11,100 acres of land and at least a dozen homes, adversely affecting the residents.

A report on BBC quoted Fernando Clavijo, the president of the Canary Islands regional government, saying that there had been an opposition from the residents to leave their homes. However, Clavijo clarified that leaving residences should be a priority to save lives amid the blaze.

"People come first, then the houses, and then [extinguishing the fire]," Clavijo said.

According to fire officials, the fire initially struck the area of El Pinar in the north-western municipality of Puntagorda. After that, the blaze unfortunately spread in the southward direction going to the town of Tijarafe.

Aside from the shifting winds, firefighters said they could attribute the quick spread of the fire to the climate conditions as well as the heatwave recently being experienced by the public.

Clavijo said that on Saturday, the progress of putting out the fire was slow.

A report on Dailymail said that the main cause of fire in La Palma is yet to be determined by authorities.

Reports said that more or less 400 personnel from various agencies are in the field to put off the La Palma fire.

Security forces, such as the Spanish Army, had already deployed 150 of its firefighters to help in controlling the fire.

On the other hand, the Red Cross had also set up a facility to provide assistance to evacuees.

Meanwhile, a wildfire was also experienced by residents in Turkey.

Authorities said a smoke was seen after a fire broke out in the woodland area of Canakkale that is located in northwestern Turkey.

Read Also: Wildfire Smoke Particles Can Affect the Climate Longer Than Previously Expected

Too much heat

These wildfire incidents came after Europe was warned against a new severe heat storm that is forecasted to bring a record-breaking temperature of 49 degree Celsius in the coming areas in areas such as Italy and Greece.

Due to the forecasted hot weather, Italian authorities already raised red weather alerts across 16 cities.

This was also a warning for the foreseen enter of new anticyclone "Charon" in southern Europe. This means Sardinia could experience a temperatures of 49 degree Celsius (120F) this week, which can be considered as the hottest on record in the continent.

Meanwhile, Spain and Greece have also experienced scorching temperatures in the past several days. This weather already affected the lives of residents as this brought damage to their agriculture and it also prompted British travelers to cancel their vacations.

Related Article: Study Shows How Wildfire Triggers Major Forest Changes

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