‘My whole life in a van’: Islanders flee Spanish volcano

By ARITZ PARRA
Associated Press

TODOQUE, Canary Islands (AP) — A wall of lava up to 12 meters (40 feet) high is bearing down on a Spanish island village following a volcanic eruption. Residents were scrambling Wednesday to save what they can before the molten rock swallows up their homes. The lava, which is still spewing from last Sunday’s eruption in the Canary Islands off northwest Africa, is advancing down hillsides of La Palma to the coast at about 4 meters (13 feet) an hour. More dangers lie ahead for residents, for when the lava hits the ocean it could cause explosions, trigger landslides and produce clouds of toxic gas. Firefighters worked all night and day, trying to dig trenches to divert the lava flows.