FIRE UPDATE: The fire now covers 11,000 acres and 2,000 people have been evacuated

UPDATE: Saturday 15/07/2023  6:10pm:

The latest updates from the emergency services confirm that the forest fire is continuing to spread due to the strong winds in La Palma, and now covers 4,500 hectares, which is over 11,000 acres, and 2,000 people have now been evacuated from their homes.

There are now over 300 people from the fire brigade, BRIFOR, UME, and emergency services on the ground fighting to put out the fire, and 10 water helicopters attacking it from the air. Two FOCA seaplanes have also been requested to help and are on their way from mainland Spain.

UPDATE: Saturday 15/07/2023  1:40pm:
The forest fire declared this morning La Palma has now destroyed 140 hectares of pine forest, 11 houses, and more than 500 people have been evacuated, as reported by the new president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, to the media at Cecopin.

The number of evacuees could reach a thousand in the next few hours given the advancement of the fire due to the wind. However, Clavijo said that "if the weather is good" the fire could be controlled during the day, although he also warned that we must be prudent in this regard, since the wind is very changeable and very strong gusts are expected that could make extinguishing tasks difficult.

Original article:
FOREST FIRE IN LA PALMA RISES TO LEVEL 2 EMERGENCY AND EVACUATION OF RESIDENTS.

A forest fire that started in the early hours of this morning in the urban forest area of Puntagorda in the west of La Palma, has now been raised to a Level 2 emergency by the Cabildo, and the Canary Islands Government have taken over control of dealing with it.

They have activated the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Attention due to Forest Fires in the Canary Islands (INFOCA), which includes deploying more resources and evacuating residents from endangered areas for their safety.

The government have reported that the fire is affecting the municipality of Puntagorda which includes crops, scrubland, and pine trees, and is spreading towards residential homes and vehicles, hence the evacuation.

The start of the fire was located in the vicinity of the LP-1 highway at kilometre point 76, and the 1-1-2 call centre of the emergency services received the first alert calls at 1:05am.

So far, some local houses and a shelter have been evacuated, while the residents of the municipality's home for the elderly are being kept inside awaiting instructions depending on the evolution of the fire.

The Red Cross has set up a facility in Tijarafe for the accommodation and assistance of the evacuees and is setting up another in the Severo Rodríguez municipal sports centre in Los Llanos de Aridane.

Until now, land resources from the La Palma Cabildo, BRIFOR (Forestry Commission), EIRIF (Canary Islands Government), La Palma Fire Brigade, the Emergency Services (SUC), the General Police Corps of the Canary Islands, the Guardia Civil, the Local Police, and the Red Cross, are all involved in the emergency operation. Air resources have already been activated and are en route to the island.

This morning, troops from the Tenerife Fire Brigade, the Red Cross, and the General Corps of the Canary Islands Police are currently travelling by ferry from Los Cristianos (Tenerife) to the island, and the Military Emergency Unit is expected to join the extinction tasks later this afternoon.