Canary Islands Wildfires Force Thousands to Flee

As of Monday, more than 5,000 residents of Spain’s Canary Islands had been evacuated as wildfires bear down on personal property, wildlife, and some of Spain’s most important natural treasures, including Garajonay National Park. Garajonay National Park is a UNESCO Natural Heritage site containing forestry that has survived, according to experts, for over 11 million years.

Fire fighters are having trouble controlling the blaze. “We are living through hell,” said Casimimo Curbelo, a local leader in La Gomera, “we have asked the central government for more resources with which to fight the fire.”

A dry winter and an exceptionally warm summer are being blamed as the primary causes for the wildfire epidemic. Currently there are at least 10 wildfires being fought on the Canary Islands.

Benjamin T. Lambright

I'm a poet and and author. I received my BA in Creative Writing from Central Michigan University and I am pursuing my MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. My work has appeared in The Greatest Lakes Review, The North Central Review, Dexter magazine, Open Palm Print, newspapers, magazines, bathroom stalls, the backs of highway billboards, under bridges and other, stranger, places.