(CNN)Over 9,000 people have been evacuated as wildfires rage on Spain's Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, officials said.
Despite four seaplanes unloading over 1 million liters of water onto the blaze, and the efforts of 600 firefighters, the fire has continued to grow, according to a statement Monday by the Canary Islands Department of Safety and Emergency.
The blaze began over the weekend and has now engulfed 24,710 acres (10,000 hectares) on Gran Canaria, a popular holiday destination that is home to 900,000 people, making it the second-most populous of the Canary Islands.
A fire squad helicopter picks up water before dropping it over a forest fire raging in Galdar on the island of Gran Canaria on August 18, 2019.
Officials are now hoping that wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and a drop in temperature could help firefighters, who were working through Monday night, to combat the flames.
"This is a very serious fire, a great forest fire and you have to rely on the magnificent work of those who fight it," Torres said in the statement.