At least 2000 people have been evacuated as a forest fire burned out of control in the Spanish island of La Palma and Europe sweltered in a heatwave.

Many parts of southern Spain endured scorching temperatures of more than 40 degrees last week and even higher temperatures are expected next week, as well as across southern Europe.

The fire in La Palma started in early on Saturday morning in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area at the north of the island in the Canaries. The blaze forced the evacuation of Puntagorda and neighbouring Tijarafe.

Marcos Lorenzo, the mayor of Tijarafe, told Spanish television station RTVE that people in the village were evacuated as the fire spread. It was not clear how many had actually left.

At least 12 houses were destroyed as the fire advanced, said Fernando Clavijo, president of the Canary Islands.

“The number of people who need to be evacuated could rise. It depends on whether we can bring these strong winds under control,” Mr Clavijo told reporters in La Palma.

About 4500 hectares of land had been affected by the fire, authorities said.

The Spanish army deployed 150 firefighters to help local crews battle the blaze and other firefighters were arriving from the neighbouring island of Tenerife, Mr Clavijo said.

Four helicopters and four firefighting units on the ground were battling to bring the fire under control in the island, which forms part of a Spanish archipelago off the coast of western Africa.

The forest fire is the first natural crisis on the island since a volcanic eruption in September 2021. More than 2000 buildings were destroyed and many thousands of people were forced to leave their homes when lava began pouring out of the Cumbre Vieja volcano.

Ash covered the island for months until the eruption ended three months later.

-AAP