Spain: Steps taken to halt 'unprecendent' wildfires on Gran Canaria

W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Workers carrying hoes
W/S Locals cutting grass roadside
M/S Cut grass
W/S Bags of cut grass
W/S Locals stuffing grass into plastic bags
SOT, local resident (Spanish): "We are working against the wildfires in these little valleys, which is how the fires entered the canyon back in 2017."
W/S Locals roadside
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Man walks past pile of cut grass
W/S Municipal workers, lorry and crane on road
W/S Municipal workers, lorry and crane on road
W/S Municipal workers cutting grass, bundles of cut grass being lifted off
SOT, local resident (Spanish): "In order to prevent the fire reaching this zone, we are establishing an area of manoeuvre for workers so that they can try and stop the fire before it reaches the area of Mogan."
W/S Municipal workers, lorry and crane
W/S Bundles of grass being placed in lorry trailer by crane and municipal workers
W/S Lorry cab and road signs
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
W/S Smoke rising from mountains in distance
SCRIPT
The authorities took steps to halt wildfires currently ripping through Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands on Monday.
A team of locals and municipal workers were cutting grass in little valleys by the roadside near Aldea de San Nicolas and Mogan to create firebreaks - a gap in vegetation to slow or stop the progress of the wildfire.
Around 9,000 people have already been evacuated in what the head of the Canary Islands government Angel Victor Torres called "an unprecedented environmental tragedy".
The blaze, which began on Saturday near the town of Tejeda, is advancing on several fronts thanks to high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.
Worse still, Torres said the fires were "neither contained nor controlled" at a press conference on Sunday evening.
About 14 planes and helicopters, as well as 700 firefighters were deployed.