The fire started in the early hours of Saturday morning in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area at the north of the island in the Canaries, as many European cities brace themselves for extreme heat in the coming week, Reuters reported.
At least 11 houses were destroyed as the fire advanced, said Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo on Saturday.
“The number of people who need to be evacuated could reach 1,000. It depends on whether we can bring these strong winds under control,” Mr. Clavijo told reporters in La Palma.
About 140ha of land had been destroyed by the fire, he added.
Four helicopters and four firefighting units on the ground were battling to bring the fire under control in the island, which forms part of a Spanish archipelago off the coast of western Africa.
The authorities in La Palma were seeking help from other islands in the archipelago, such as Gomera and Tenerife.
In September 2021, more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed and thousands of people were forced to leave their homes when lava began pouring out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.
The eruption continued for three months, and ash from the lava coated the surrounding area with a sooty blanket of thick black dust.