Thousands more evacuated as Tenerife fire rages on Spain’s Canary Islands

By ARTURO RODRÍGUEZ and JOSEPH WILSON
Associated Press

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Canary Islands (AP) — Thousands more residents of Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands have fled their homes as a wildfire that authorities deemed “out of control” raged on for a fourth day. The regional government for the Canary Islands says that 4,000 more people were ordered to evacuate on Saturday. That’s in addition to the 4,500 people who were forced to move out of harm’s way on Friday. That figure of more than 8,000 evacuees is expected to rise, and perhaps sharply. Emergency services for the Canary Islands says the number of evacuees “could surpass 26,000” according to provisional calculations based on the island’s census. Spain is setting new heat records this year amid a prolonged drought that has authorities on alert for wildfires.