(Newswire.net — August 5, 2016) — One man has been killed and about 700 people have been evacuated after a wildfire consumed the Canary Island National Park.
Authorities arrested a German national who was found roaming the La Palma natural park after the fire alarm was set of.
The 27 year-old German, who allegedly lives in the caves in the Canary Island National Park, confessed the fire started after he tried to burn used toilet paper, not wanting to leave it behind after defecating off road at the park. The flame quickly spread after catching dry vegetation.
Soon, the blaze turned into a massive wildfire that caused the death of a park ranger and forced some 700 people to be evacuated.
“He said that it was an accident caused when sparks from the burning toilet paper caught dry vegetation,” Spanish newspaper Razon reported an investigation source saying, according to The Local.
Reportedly, the German was arrested after he was spotted walking off the road in the national park after the evacuation alarm had already gone off.
54 year-old park ranger, Francisco Jose Santata, who worked for the Canary Islands Environmental Department was confirmed killed by the wildfire blaze, Reuters cited the Canary Island Environmental Department report. The victim had had a wife and five daughters.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed his condolences to the family on his official Twitter account.
The evacuated people were instructed to seek shelter at a sports centre in the town of El Paso until about 200 firefighters manage to contain the fire.
An extra 67 firefighters, 32 vehicles, water-dropping planes and hundreds of volunteers were sent from the mainland and neighboring islands, the AP reports.
By Thursday afternoon an estimated 1,000 hectares (almost 2,500 acres) of the pine forest had vanished and smoke decreased visibility in residential areas.
The last time such a major wildfire struck the island was in 2009 when around 4,000 people had to be evacuated.