A massive forest fire in the Canary Islands is still blazing after six days.
The inferno is believed to have been started by a German man who was burning used toilet paper.
So far, it has claimed nearly 7% of the island of La Palma, according to local authorities, and ravaged 12,000 acres (4,800 hectares).
Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to conquer the flames, backed up by a dozen helicopters and sea planes which have dropped more than 1,000 loads of water.
Officials said that the fire has been stabilised within a perimeter, but it is still not under control.
“We’ve taken an important step forward, but we need to keep up our reinforcement efforts to make sure the gains aren’t lost,” Nieves Lady Barreto, a minister on the island, said.
Barreto said the worst affected areas were the municipality of El Paso, where almost 5,900 acres of land have been burned, followed by Fuencaliente (4,000 acres), Mazo (2,000 acres) and Los Llanos de Aridane (70 acres).
She praised the “limitless dedication” of all those who have been fighting the fire, saying they had gone above and beyond the call of duty to perform a task “that can only be described as heroic”.
About 2,500 residents had to be evacuated and a forest ranger, Francisco José Santana, lost his life while trying to put the fire out.
Proving once and for all that Germans do shit in the woods, the 27-year-old is under investigation for causing fire through gross negligence. He appeared in court on Saturday and was remanded in custody.
It has been reported that he admitted to police that the fire started accidentally as a result of burning the toilet paper he had used in the forest in an area of pine needles and other dry vegetation.
