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Sixteen planes and helicopters, as well as more than 1,000 firefighters, are working to contain flames as high as 50 meters.
An out-of-control wildfire on Gran Canaria in Spain's Canary Islands kept spreading Monday, increasing to 9,000 the number of people evacuated from eight municipalities and reaching a natural park, authorities reported.
The blaze, which began on Saturday near the central town of Tejeda, is advancing on several fronts, propelled by a combination of high temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity. So far, the fire has affected the mountainous central part of the island rather than coastal areas.
The blaze marks the second time that Tejeda has been evacuated this month due to a wildfire.
As it progresses, the flames have entered the northwestern Tamadaba natural park, home to some of the island's oldest pine forests and considered a complicated area for firefighters to intervene. Around 6,000 hectares have burned so far.
"We will defeat this serious and damaging fire," Canary Islands' regional president Angel Victor Torres said in a statement released by his office, adding that Gran Canaria's airport is not affected by the blaze.
Sixteen planes and helicopters, as well as more than 1,000 firefighters, are working to contain flames as high as 50 meters, authorities said.
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