Forest fire prompts new evacuations in Spain's Canaries

Hundreds of hectares were again in flames in Spain's Canary Islands and mainland Galicia region Saturday as a pitiless heatwave showed no signs of letting up. The most devastating fires of the past decade had been close to being brought under control before storming back to life on La Gomera in the Canaries. Forest fires that broke out a week ago have already ravaged some 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of land on La Gomera, including about one-tenth of the Garajonay nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site. "The fires are still burning on three fronts," an emergency services spokesman said, adding: "There is no positive change for the moment." Water-dropping aircraft resumed their rotations as blazes erupted anew in Garajonay, home to rare subtropical forests, which covered the Mediterranean region tens of millions of years ago but have now largely disappeared.It also boasts 450 plant species, including eight found only in the park. Ventura del Carmen Rodriguez, Gomera island's environment secretary, said last week that it would take 30 to 40 years for Garajonay's burned areas to recover. Three more villages were evacuated overnight after 300 people fled their homes to safety on Friday, as roads leading to the affected areas were cut off. Restaurateur Victor Manuel Garcia, 40, said he was among a handful of residents in his village, Chipude, to stay put. "There's not as much black smoke," he told AFP by telephone. "It's hot but there is less wind." Chipude was evacuted for the first time last week and again on Friday, but Garcia said "someone had to stay in case of an emergency." He had expected his 40-seat restaurant to fill up with tourists attending a village fete beginning Sunday, but that had to be cancelled. Meanwhile on the mainland in northwestern Galicia, two villages in Ourense province were evacuated Friday as flames devoured another 800 hectares of vegetation, the regional government said.Spain has been battling fires both in the Canaries, which are off the Moroccan coast, and on the mainland after a winter that saw almost no rainfall, leaving the Spanish landscape its driest in seven decades. A wave of hot weather from Africa last week pushed temperatures past 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Farenheit), increasing the risk of further wildfires. Between January 1 and July 29, wildfires destroyed 130,830 hectares of vegetation in Spain, according to the agriculture ministry.