A wildfire in Almeria, southern Spain has killed at least 12 people and left 23 others missing, making it one of the country's deadliest on record, as soaring temperatures grip much of the country, authorities said Friday.
As emergency crews battle blazes across the Cape, residents in Pearly Beach flee their homes. With over 100,000 hectares burnt, the priority remains saving lives.
Several fires are raging across the Western and Eastern Cape provinces, with the Western Cape Premier stating they have 'deployed more helicopters than ever', including a military helicopter sent to assist. However, resources remain stretched, and difficult decisions are being made regarding where to focus much needed aerial efforts to prevent the loss of life at the potential cost of losing infrastructure.
Comment: Is there a 'hidden hand' behind these fires?
Argentine authorities have evacuated some 3,000 tourists from a sparsely populated Patagonian district ravaged by wildfires for days, officials said Wednesday.
Wildfires have raged through Patagonia, forcing the evacuation of at least 3,000 tourists.
Several forest areas near the Andes mountains in Chubut province have been blazing since Monday (5 January), with video footage showing billows of smoke and flames rising from the trees.
More than 2,000 hectares of vegetation across various points in the Argentine Patagonia have been affected by the blazes. "Comarca Andina", a popular tourist destination, has been hit by the flames.
At least one of the fires was the result of arson, officials said.
It comes a year after the country was hit by its worst wildfires in three decades, which saw tens of thousands of hectares razed to the ground and left one person dead.
Comment: Social media in Argentina is rife with reports of evidence of arson at more than one of the fires:
And Argentine media is reporting the discovery of 'grenades' of some type being found 'around a lake' somewhere in Patagonia:
DD Geopolitics has a whole theory as to what may be happening here: preparation for partitioning Argentina into another 'Jewish state'?
Australia has been hit by an intense heatwave as temperatures soar above 40C, sparking warnings of "extreme fire danger" and risks to life.
The country's Bureau of Meteorology said more than half of Australia was in the grips of extreme heat, especially South Australia and Victoria, with temperatures forecast to reach up to 47C in inland areas.
Firefighters were grappling with blazes in several areas of Victoria on Thursday and a number of towns near Seymour were evacuated as responders struggled to contain outbreaks. A segment of the Hume Highway, the main road between Melbourne and Sydney, was also closed due to fire threats.
Friday "is going to be the peak fire danger day, especially for Victoria", said Sarah Scully, a meteorologist at the Bureau.
High temperatures, strong gusty winds and "dry lightning", where thunder storms had little rain, all increased the risk of fires, she added.
The number of wildfires in British Columbia continues to swell as thousands of lightning strikes hit the province due to persisting hot and dry weather.
The BC Wildfire Service says about 140 wildfires were burning across the province as of Sunday morning, a sharp rise from the 68 last Wednesday.
The wildfire service says more than 75 per cent of the active blazes were caused by lightning.
The service's latest situational report says nearly 4,400 lightning strikes were recorded across B.C. on Friday and Saturday, mostly in the Cariboo and Coastal regions.
The Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation order for more than 62 square kilometres of land near the Tsetzi Lake area due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.
Fires have burned houses, farms and factories and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.
Dozens of people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.
Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos and in at least three inland spots.
The Ministry of the Interior of Spain has announced the activation of a 'pre-emergency phase' in view of the multiple forest fires affecting different parts of the country. The measure seeks to coordinate and reinforce the deployment of state resources in support of the most affected regions, which include Castilla y León, Navarra, Andalucía, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia
General director of civil protection and emergencies Virginia Barcones activated the measure in the early hours on Tuesday morning, which has allowed the national centre for monitoring and coordination of emergencies (Cenem) to initiate a reinforced communication protocol with the regional centres to monitor the situation and anticipate the evolution of the outbreaks. Barcones has also called an urgent meeting of the state coordination and management committee (Cecod) to assess the emergency, with the participation of the heads of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, state meteorological agency Aemet and the Ministry of the Defence, among other bodies.
A southern California wildfire that has threatened thousands of homes is still only 21% contained, officials said Saturday, warning of the blaze's "extreme" behavior amid low humidity and summer heat.
The Gifford Fire, which started Aug. 1, has prompting widespread evacuation orders and scorched more than 104,000 acres across San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, where evacuation orders and warnings are in place.
Nearly 3,600 firefighters are battling the flames amid hot, dry conditions.
"We have hot weather, and we have low relative humidity," said Santa Barbara County Fire Department Capt. Scott Safechuck.
Then, yesterday, New Brunswick decided to enforce a similar ban in their forests.
The aim, proponents claim, is to prevent wildfires. However, in years past, a ban on campfires was deemed good enough during wildfire season or periods of drought. A full ban on all human activity is unprecedented.
Nevertheless, there is a rather predictable list of people defending the move with language that's all too familiar:
I do believe that there will be a clash between East and West. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think that it will be based upon the color of the skin.
- Malcolm X
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Comment: Social media in Argentina is rife with reports of evidence of arson at more than one of the fires:
And Argentine media is reporting the discovery of 'grenades' of some type being found 'around a lake' somewhere in Patagonia:
DD Geopolitics has a whole theory as to what may be happening here: preparation for partitioning Argentina into another 'Jewish state'?
Unmasking the Flames: Israel's Shadow Over Patagonia and Milei's Betrayal of Argentina
The Grayzone also finds the theory to have merit: