Wildfire evacuees on Spain’s Tenerife allowed to return home

Thousands of residents evacuated for two days from the Spanish island of Tenerife because of a wildfire were allowed home on Friday after firefighters gained control over the blaze, officials said.

Around 120 firefighters backed by nine helicopters were battling the blaze in an area of steep ravines in the northeast of the holiday island.

The wildfire, which first broke out on August 15, was declared under control on September 11 after destroying around 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of woodland.

But it was never completely extinguished and reignited on Wednesday amid scorching temperatures.

The fire forced the evacuation of around 3,200 people from the towns of Santa Ursula and La Orotava but the head of the regional government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, said they would all now be allowed to return home.

The regional government has lowered its alert level for the wildfire to One from Two because the situation had evolved favourably “in recent hours”, he posted on X, formerly called Twitter.

Since August, small fires have periodically ignited in the area due to winds and high temperatures.

Until Wednesday’s flare-up, firefighters had been able to quickly contain the fires.

Temperatures in Tenerife have soared to nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on some parts of the island, in recent days, levels normally only seen during the summer.

They eased somewhat on Friday, prompting the regional government of the archipelago to end its heat alert for Tenerife and the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria.

The seven-island archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. At their nearest point, the islands are 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Morocco.

As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned that heatwaves will become more frequent and more intense.