Wildfires

Hundreds evacuated from Italian island of Sardinia amid massive wildfires

RT
Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:11 UTC

Massive wildfires have ravaged tens of thousands of hectares on the Italian island of Sardinia. Firefighters are struggling to contain the blaze as it rages for a third day straight, with Rome asking the EU for help.

More than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of forest and land have been devastated on Sardinia as wildfires raged through the Montiferru region in the island's west. The outbreaks also stretched east to the province of Ogliastra.

Videos published on social media showed walls of fire moving along the mountain slopes in Sardinia and closing in on some settlements, as plumes of black smoke blotted out the skies overhead. Firefighting aircraft water-bombed the blaze just meters away from homes, the footage showed.

Thousands evacuated as US wildfires burn across California and Nevada

BBC
Sun, 25 Jul 2021 19:54 UTC

Fire crews are battling extreme temperatures as they try to control wildfires in California and Nevada. Hundreds of people have been evacuated.

In Washington DC, the moon turned a bright orange colour due to the smoke from the fires.

Comment: Wildfire smoke now covers much of the United States

Massive forest fires in Catalonia and Andalusia, Spain

Blanca Castro
Euronews
Sun, 25 Jul 2021 18:40 UTC

Thousands of hectares have been devastated by forest fires over the weekend in Spain.

Above all, in the region of Catalonia, where the situation is critical. Dozens of people have had to be evicted due to the advance of the fire.

In the provinces of Barcelona and Tarragona, a fire is progressing uncontrollably leaving in its wake about 1,300 burned hectares, including part of a protected natural area, and crops, emergency services reported.

More than three hundred firefighters were deployed in the area with fifty water trucks and the support of fifteen tankers.

Wildfire smoke now covers much of the United States

Amanda Kooser
cnet.com
Tue, 20 Jul 2021 12:15 UTC

The AirNow fire and smoke map shows a film of gray wildfire smoke across most of the US on July 20, 2021.

The lower 48 is largely blanketed by hazy, smoke-filled skies as wildfires rage on.

I've been noticing strange sunsets lately in New Mexico where the sun looks like a molten ball of red as it sinks into the west. It's one symptom of wildfire smoke in the sky and a sign of another brutal wildfire season in the US.

The National Weather Service office in Aberdeen, South Dakota, tweeted on Tuesday: "You've probably noticed the persistent hazy skies as of late. Turns out we're not the only ones seeing this -- smoke from wildfires is covering much of the lower 48."

Besides apocalyptic-looking sunsets and orange skies, wildfire smoke can impact air quality far from where a fire is actually located. The wildfires, many of which are burning in the western US, have been fed by severe drought conditions and heat waves. These events have been exacerbated by the climate crisis and the extreme weather it brings with it.

The National Weather Service shared a fire and smoke map from the AirNow air quality monitoring site. What's notable are the wide swaths of gray indicating smoke coverage over the US and Canada, as well as the many marked wildfire locations, denoted by the orange fire icons.

'Climate change is happening': As wildfires destroy hectares of Siberian forest, local politician points finger at global warming

Jonny Tickle
RT
Wed, 21 Jul 2021 12:32 UTC

The wildfires in Russia's Yakutia region are caused by climate change, which has led to abnormally hot weather and 'dry thunderstorms.' That's according to Aysen Nikolayev, the head of the vast republic located in eastern Siberia.

Speaking to the local TV Channel Yakutia-24, Nikolayev noted that the region's average temperature in June was 20C - far higher than it should be. His statement comes as many Russian politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, have upped their rhetoric on fighting global warming in recent months.

"Global climate change is happening," the head explained. "This year is the driest and hottest summer that Yakutia has had in the history of meteorological observations since the end of the 19th century. This is the data of the meteorological service, which can't be refuted."

Comment: See also:

Canada's B.C. declares provincial state of emergency due to wildfires

Amy Judd & Richard Zussman
Global News
Tue, 20 Jul 2021 16:26 UTC

© Twitter @DylanGaleas via Reuters
Smoke billows from a wildfire near Osoyoos, British Columbia, Canada July 19, 2021, in this picture obtained from social media

British Columbia is once again under a provincial state of emergency.

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth declared a state of emergency on Tuesday afternoon in response to ongoing wildfires burning across the province.

It will take effect at midnight, Tuesday, July 20.

The forecast in parts of the province calls for shifts in winds and weather, raising concerns that property evacuations could rise to a level not yet seen this fire season, the government said.

The province previously declared states of emergencies linked to fires in 2003, 2017 and 2018.

On July 1, 2021, B.C. concluded a 16-month state of emergency, by far the longest in the province's history, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state of emergency is initially in effect for 14 days once issued and may be extended or rescinded as necessary.

Siberian wildfires spread 17.5% in 24 hours

The Moscow Times
Fri, 09 Jul 2021 13:05 UTC

© Russian Aerial Forest Protection Service / TASS
The fires have been fueled by abnormally high temperatures, historic drought and strong winds.

Wildfires ravaging northeastern Siberia have spread by nearly 70,000 hectares in the past day, marking a 17.5% increase in a single day, the Kommersant business daily reported Friday, citing the regional emergencies ministry.

Some 400,000 hectares of forest are now burning in Russia's republic of Sakha.

Abnormally high temperatures and historic drought as well as strong winds have all contributed to the rapid wildfire spread, Sakha's deputy ecology minister and chief forester Sergei Sivtsev told Kommersant.

"For the central regions of the republic, June 2021 became the second driest in the entire history of observations; the last time such a drought was observed was at the end of the 19th century, in 1888," Sivtsev told Kommersant.

Wildfires torch homes, land across 10 states in US West

JOHN ANTCZAK and CHRISTOPHER WEBER
abcnews.go.com
Tue, 13 Jul 2021 12:52 UTC

A truck driver who hauls fire equipment watches as the Sugar fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex fire, burns in Doyle, California, on Saturday.

© Noah Berger/AP
A truck driver who hauls fire equipment watches as the Sugar fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex fire, burns in Doyle, California, on Saturday.

Wildfires that torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate burned across 10 parched Western states on Tuesday, and the largest, in Oregon, threatened a portion of California's power supply.

Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.

The fires erupted as the West was in the grip of the second bout of dangerously high temperatures in just a few weeks. A climate change-fueled megadrought also is contributing to conditions that make fires even more dangerous, scientists say.

The National Weather Service said the heat wave had peaked in many areas, and remaining excessive heat warnings were expected to expire by Tuesday night.

California wildfire advances as heat wave stifles US West

Yahoo! News
Sat, 10 Jul 2021 21:23 UTC

© AP Photo/Noah Berger
Firefighters battle the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire, in Doyle, Calif., on Friday, July 9, 2021.

Firefighters struggled to contain an exploding Northern California wildfire under blazing temperatures as another heat wave hits the U.S. West this weekend, prompting an excessive heat warning for inland and desert areas.

On Friday, Death Valley National Park in California recorded a staggering high of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 Celsius) and could reach the same high on Saturday. If verified, the 130-degree reading would be the hottest high recorded there since July 1913, when the same Furnace Creek desert area hit 134 F (57 C), considered the highest reliably measured temperature on Earth.

The Beckwourth Complex — a merging of two lightning-caused fires — headed into Saturday showing no sign of slowing its rush northeast from the Sierra Nevada forest region after doubling in size only a few days earlier.

Devastating forest fire in Cyprus leaves 4 dead

Reuters
Sun, 04 Jul 2021 17:04 UTC

© REUTERS/George Christophorou
A general view of a wildfire in the Larnaca mountain region, Cyprus July 3, 2021. Picture taken July 3, 2021.

Four people were found dead on Sunday as a huge fire raged for a second day in Cyprus, razing tracts of forest and gutting dozens of homes in a blaze one official called the worst on record.

The blaze, fanned by strong winds, affected at least 10 communities over an area exceeding 50 square kilometres (19 square miles) in the foothills of the Troodos mountain range, an area of pine forest and densely vegetated shrubland.

"Its one of the most destructive (fires) we have experienced, unfortunately, with victims," Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters from the area. The state would stand by and support all those affected, he said.