La Palma cruise visits continue after fire

Wildfires that were raging on the Canary Island of La Palma forced many residents to evacuate their homes and tourists were left stranded after hotels were evacuated. But the fires were brought under control on 4 August and no cruise ships have altered their itineraries to avoid the area. Fred Olsen’s Black Prince will dock there tomorrow as part of its two week Canary Islands cruise, although some excursions may be altered or curtailed both to avoid burn sites and because some vehicles were requisitioned to move people living on the island to areas of safety and not all of them have been returned to tour operators.

La Palma is one of the more undeveloped and ‘green’ islands in the group, not as built up as the more recognised resorts of Tenerife and Gran Canaria and the fires will have devastated many areas of natural beauty as they have destroyed 5,000 acres of forest. The cause of the fire is still being investigated but it is thought that the initial blaze may have been started by a firework.