A man next to a vehicle as a forest fire burns near Vilaflor in Tenerife, Spain, Tuesday July 17, 2012. Two forest fires are raging out of control on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma in Spain's Canary islands archipelago near the eastern coast of Africa. Authorities say the fires threaten natural parks but are not close to parts of the islands most frequented by tourists.
(AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)
2,000 evacuated as fires rage on Spanish islands
A man next to a vehicle as a forest fire burns near Vilaflor in Tenerife, Spain, Tuesday July 17, 2012. Two forest fires are raging out of control on the islands of Tenerife and La Palma in Spain's Canary islands archipelago near the eastern coast of Africa. Authorities say the fires threaten natural parks but are not close to parts of the islands most frequented by tourists.
(AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)
July 18, 2012
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MADRID—Authorities say raging forest fires have led to the evacuation of some 2,000 people from a town in the center of Spain's popular tourist island of Tenerife.
Emergency services spokeswoman Carmina Lorenzo said residents were evacuated from Vilaflor on the fringe of the Teide National Park on Tuesday night.
She said Wednesday the park itself was not threatened.
The fires are not close to the main coastal tourist resort areas.
Lorenzo said firefighters are using some 20 water-carrying planes and helicopters to try and put out the three-day-old blaze that has affected some 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of land.
Smaller fires are also raging on the nearby islands of La Palma and La Gomera. The islands are part of the Canary Islands archipelago located near the western coast of Africa.
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