Wildfires force 9,000 to evacuate popular holiday destination

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

A second round of out-of-control wildfires has forced around 9,000 people to evacuate from Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

The newest round of fires started on Saturday and is advancing in multiple directions across the island's mountainous interior, according to BBC News.

High temperatures coupled with low humidity and very strong winds fed the blaze on Sunday and Monday and allowed it to spread quickly.

In this photo issued by the Guardia Civil, an officer looks at a forest fire in Gran Canaria, Spain, on Saturday Aug. 11, 2019. (Guardia Civil Via AP)

As of Tuesday, around 12,000 hectares (29,653 acres) have burned, and at least 40 towns on the island have been evacuated, according to the Canary News. Gran Canaria is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, with an area of 1,560 km2 (602 sq. mi) and a population of 846,717 as of 2018.

Last week, fires on the island burned an additional 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres).

More than 1,000 firefighters continued to battle the blaze into Tuesday and were assisted by 21 aircraft consisting of helicopters and sea planes, according to the Canary News.

Most of the resources are being used on the right flank of the fires to protect a large number of homes, according to Federico Grilllo, the head of local emergency services. Grillo added that a number of homes had been damaged or destroyed by the fires.

Authorities also stated that around 40 people remained trapped in a cultural centre in Artenara which was cut off by the ongoing fires.

In this photo issued by Cabildo de Gran Canaria, flames from a forest fire burn close to houses in El Rincon, Tejeda on the Spanish Gran Canaria island on Sunday Aug. 18, 2019. (Cabildo de Gran Canaria Via AP)

Lowering temperatures and a brief period of less wind allowed fire fighters to gain more control of the fires Monday night into Tuesday morning. Gusty winds returned Tuesday afternoon.

Strong winds will continue to be the biggest hindrance to wildfire containment in the coming days. Daily wind gusts of 50-65 km/h (30-40 mph) are expected most days with localized gusts up to 80 km/h (50 mph) on Wednesday.

Seasonably warm and dry weather will persist across Gran Canaria this week, causing even more hurdles for firefighting efforts.

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The Canary Islands are an archipelago located west of northern Africa and governed by Spain. On average, Gran Canaria receives 3.6 million tourists per year, according to Grancanaria.com.

The dry climate of the Canary Islands, combined with typically strong trade winds, puts the region at an elevated risk for wildfires.