2,000 evacuated as new forest fire sweeps Spain’s Gran Canaria

EMERGENCY services report that at least 2,000 residents and tourists have been evacuated as a new forest fire has started on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. 

Just eight days after a second major fire of the year on the holiday island was quelled, firefighters have once more called for help from the mainland. 

Water-bomber firefighting planes have been sent from Malaga and Sevilla in a bid to stop the blaze, which has affected 1,500 hectares so far, from spreading. 

The Canary Islands Emergency Service said that healthcare is available to evacuees in the shelters of San Mateo and Valleseco. 

Guests at the Hotel Parador de Cruz de Tejeda, which is in the heart of the mountainous area where the fire started, were amongst those evacuated. 

At the moment the fire is heading for an area already burnt in a previous blaze where there is less fuel. But emergency services want to guard against a change in wind direction which could fan flames in the direction of more populated areas. 

Hotels in the coastal tourism resorts are said to be in no danger from the fire. 

21:00 (⌚local) 📽️ @BrifPuntagorda se encuentra aplicando fuego técnico 🔥 junto con @UMEgob con el apoyo de sus 🚒🚒 en el #IFValleseco #GranCanaria 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼#IIFF somos #BRIF de @mapagob pic.twitter.com/unSwXlO6HP

— ATBRIF (@AT_Brif) August 17, 2019