A huge forest fire is out of control on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, forcing the evacuation of up to 4,000 people, including tourists.

加那利群岛一场巨大的森林火灾已经失去控制，包括游客在内的4000多人被迫疏散。

Military aircraft are fighting the flames but firefighters have been pulled back from the worst-hit areas because of the intensity¹ of the flames.

But since then they have been aided by a slight drop in temperature and a change in wind direction.

Spain's government has promised to help those affected² by the fires.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on a visit to La Palma that an "appropriate decree regarding aid" would be approved at the next cabinet meeting on 13 August.

Some residents were saved just minutes before fire engulfed（吞没） their homes.

Several dozen homes in the town of Fuencaliente were gutted⁴.

There are fears the flames could spread to an observatory⁵ housing the world's largest telescope.

The Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory has been operating for more than 20 years, and a new telescope was inaugurated（开创，举行……典礼） last month.

Fresh teams of firefighters have been brought in from other parts of the Canary Islands, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has also arrived in La Palma to inspect efforts to tackle the fire.

The fire is thought to have been caused by a stray（迷途的，偶然的） firework let off during local fiestas（祭奠，圣日）.

Some progress has been made in combating the fires after temperatures eased slightly, but a fire close to the town of Mazo - a popular tourist destination - remains⁶ out of control.

TV pictures showed flames metres away from villages in the Tigalate area, where a major containment⁷ effort is under way.

Water-dumping planes and helicopters managed to keep the flames away from the homes, but residents were still forced to evacuate⁸.

Tourist impact

British holidaymaker Cath Watkin said the fire came dangerously close to her hotel on the island.

"We experienced extremely hot, searing（灼热的） winds, and then woke up in the early hours of Saturday morning to very, very thick, choking smoke from the fires, extremely hot outside," she said.

"The fire was actually very close: the hotel is actually at the bottom of the mountain, the fires were raging on the mountain behind the hotel."

Dozens of tourists have been unable to catch flights home because of road closures.

La Palma is a small, relatively⁹ undeveloped island, with a resident population of about 85,000.

It is dominated by a dormant¹⁰ volcano（休眠火山）, and is renowned¹¹ as one of the greenest of the Canary Islands. But its lush（藏对繁茂的，青翠的） vegetation has been seared（枯萎的，烤焦的） by the high temperatures of recent days.

Smaller fires have broken out on other Canary Islands, including Tenerife and Gran Canaria, but are expected to be brought under control soon.