EL CERCADO, Spain — Fierce wildfires forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and were threatening some of Spain’s most precious natural parks, including one that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, officials said Sunday.
Fires on the Canary islands of La Gomera and Tenerife led to the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents beginning late Saturday and the cutting off of many roads as precautionary measures, the regional government said....
At the heart of his island lies Garajonay National Park, which experts say contains woodlands that have survived since the Tertiary Age, 11 million years ago.
Garajonay was declared a World Heritage Site by the UN cultural agency in 1986 and is a very rare example of the type of humid subtropical forest that once covered almost all of Europe before the arrival of humans.
I would prefer it not burn, but.... what can I do?
I would prefer it not burn, but.... what can I do?
The fire was raging out of control, said Mendoza, who wept and added that it was ‘‘almost unthinkable a native islander could have done this on purpose.’’
Scapegoating, or.... ??
Scapegoating, or.... ??
Water-carrying aircraft that doused flames when the fire first broke out there a week ago were sent away after officials decided the outbreak was under control. But the blaze was rekindled by winds and high temperatures, said regional official Nancy Melo.
Due to the islands’ location, 850 miles off Spain’s southwestern tip, it can take up to a day for propeller-driven firefighting planes to return once deployed back to the mainland.
A dry winter has been followed by a scorching summer, with temperatures reaching 111 Fahrenheit in southern areas in recent days. The state meteorological agency has warned of ‘‘a high risk of fires in the country.’’
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"A dry winter followed by a scorching hot summer has left much of southern Spain tinder dry and susceptible to fires. About 580 square miles of land in Spain has burned in nearly 12,000 wildfires so far this year. Other European nations, including Greece, Portugal, and Bosnia, also have faced blazes spawned by similar conditions."
Of course, I'm only reading about it in my elite paper because it threatens a "wealthy Mediterranean resort."
Thank God they had floods this year, thanks to the odd snowfall in late spring.
