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Scientists shine light on 66-million-year-old meteorite wildfire mystery


University of Aberdeen
Fri, 09 Sep 2022 21:47 UTC
Impact Study
© compiled by Vellekoop et al(A) location map of the study area. (B) paleogeographic reconstruction of Gulf of Mexico and Baja California Pacific margin taken from Stéphan et al, and Helenes & Carreño, with location of this study, Chicxulub crater, and impact-related slumps, faults, slides, and tsunami deposits.
The meteorite that wiped out Earth's dinosaurs instantly ignited forest wildfires up to thousands of kilometres from its impact zone, scientists have discovered.

The six-mile-wide meteorite struck the Yucatan peninsula in what is now Mexico at the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million years ago, triggering a mass extinction that killed off more than 75 percent of living species.

Uncertainty and debate have surrounded the circumstances behind the devastating wildfires known to have been caused by the strike, with several theories as to how and when they started, and their full extent.

By analysing rocks dating to the time of the strike, a team of geoscientists from the UK, Mexico and Brazil has recently discovered that some of the fires broke out within minutes, at most, of the impact, in areas stretching up to 2500km or more from the impact crater.

Wildfires that broke out in coastal areas were short-lived, as the backwash from the mega-tsunami caused by the impact swept charred trees offshore.
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Arrow Down

UK government's green energy policy is a 'national disaster'


Net Zero Watch
Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:14 UTC
Wind wash!
© Facebook
Net Zero Watch has condemned the Government's green energy policies as "a national disaster."

This follows the announcement that a major offshore windfarm will not activate an agreement to sell power at a much lower cost to the grid.

The Times has reported that the Hornsea 2 windfarm, which had a contract to sell power at £73 per megawatt hour, will instead sell in the open market, where prices have averaged £200 per megawatt hour this year, and reached £508 last week.

Britain's struggling energy consumers are likely to end up paying a billion pounds extra for Hornsea's electricity over the next 12 months.

The new Prime Minister should urgently look into the legal options for cancelling or revoking these poorly written contracts, the spirit of which are being grotesquely abused to the huge disadvantage to British consumers.
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Fire

'Fire tornado' kills 38 at wildlife park in Algeria

Jack Neman
Daily Mail
Thu, 18 Aug 2022 10:57 UTC
Wildfires raging in the forests of eastern Algeria have killed at least 38 people and wounded hundreds of others
Wildfires raging in the forests of eastern Algeria have killed at least 38 people and wounded hundreds of others
A horror 'fire tornado' has killed at least 38 people in Algeria after it ripped through a wildlife park and incinerated 12 people trying to escape the flames in a bus.

Fanned by drought and a blistering heatwave, the blazes have left massive destruction in their wake, mostly in the El Tarf region near the eastern border with Tunisia that was baking in 48C heat.

A family of five was among the dead and at least 200 more people have suffered burns or respiratory problems from the smoke, according to various Algerian media.

A journalist in El Tarf described 'scenes of devastation' on the road to El Kala in the country's far northeast.

'A tornado of fire swept everything away in seconds,' he told AFP by telephone. 'Most of those who died were surrounded while visiting a wildlife park.'

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Fire

Wildfire has already destroyed 10% of natural park of Serra da Estrela, Portugal

Natasha Donn
Portugal Resident
Thu, 11 Aug 2022 11:57 UTC
mapp
Over 1,500 firefighters battle through night; 13 firefighting helicopters and planes now in air

Thursday morning sees 1,500 firefighters backed by over 470 appliances and 13 planes and helicopters still battling the fire that began in Covilhã in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Reports locally attested last night to 9,532 hectares having been consumed by flames - taking this fire well into the 'record books'. It remains active even today (having dipped in and out of so-called resolution, meaning the total area consumed by flames will be even larger).

According to EFFIS (image used above) the burnt areas so far are equivalent to the entire borough of Lisbon. In percentage terms, they represent 10% of the Serra da Estrela natural park.

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Fire

France battles 'monster' wildfire as heatwaves scorch Europe

Manuel Ausloos and Stephane Mahe
Reuters
Thu, 11 Aug 2022 11:57 UTC
A firefighting truck works to contain a fire in Saint-Magne, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, August 11, 2022.
© REUTERS/Stephane MaheA firefighting truck works to contain a fire in Saint-Magne, as wildfires continue to spread in the Gironde region of southwestern France, August 11, 2022.
A "monster" wildfire raged for a third day in southwestern France on Thursday, ravaging forests and forcing 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.

With no let-up in scorching temperatures likely before the weekend, firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft battled on many fronts, saying the massive fire could change direction at any moment.

"It's an ogre, it's a monster," Gregory Allione from the French firefighters body FNSPF told RTL radio.

Wildfires have broken out across Europe this summer as successive heatwaves bake the continent and renew focus on climate change risks to industry and livelihoods.

Valentine Dupy took photos of her house with her phone before being evacuated from Belin-Beliet, at the heart of the Gironde region "just in case something happens".

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Tornado2

Firenado filmed tearing through wildfire in Los Angeles

James Bickerton
Newsweek
Thu, 11 Aug 2022 04:31 UTC
firenado
© The GuardianScreenshot
Extraordinary footage shows a fire tornado ripping through Los Angeles County in Gorman on Wednesday.

Firefighters were dispatched to a wildfire, dubbed the Sam Fire, at 4:07 p.m.

Arriving on the scene, Los Angeles County Fire Department said an estimated four acres was ablaze, which they later categorized as a second-alarm brush fire.

Video published by local news site KTLA shows large quantities of air being sucked into a vortex-like fire tornado.

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Fire

State of emergency in central Newfoundland extended to Botwood amid forest fires - worst situation since 1961


cbc.ca
Mon, 08 Aug 2022 12:34 UTC
A forest fire rages near N.L.'s Bay d'Espoir Highway on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
© Derrick BraggA forest fire rages near N.L.'s Bay d'Espoir Highway on Saturday, August 6, 2022.
The state of emergency in central Newfoundland has been extended to the Botwood area due to declining air quality.

Smoke from forest fires in the region had already prompted the Newfoundland and Labrador government to declare a state of emergency in the Grand Falls-Windsor, Bishop's Falls and Connaigre Peninsula areas.

Residents are encouraged to contact 811 or to see a health care provider if they experience any new or concerning symptoms that they feel could be related to the heat or smoke.


For information on emergency lodging, please contact the Canadian Red Cross at 1-800-222-9597.
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Fire

California's McKinney fire has destroyed nearly 90 homes and is only 40% contained

Susannah Cullinane and Cheri Mossburg
kesq.com
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 12:14 UTC
Sheriff's deputies leave a home where a body was found.
© Noah Berger/APSheriff's deputies leave a home where a body was found.
California's McKinney Fire has destroyed nearly 90 houses and is only 40% contained a week after breaking out in the Klamath National Forest, with hot and dry conditions expected to continue through the weekend.

The blaze, the largest wildfire in California so far this year, erupted on July 29 in the forest near the California-Oregon border and grew rapidly, fueled by winds from thunderstorms.

As of Sunday morning, the fire had burned over 60,200 acres and the perimeter was 40% contained, according to InciWeb, a US clearinghouse for fire information. More than 3,500 fire personnel are involved in battling the fire.

Of 274 structures inspected so far, 87 homes and an additional 47 structures — including garages and commercial buildings — have been destroyed, according to an initial damage assessment released by the Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services.

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Cloud Lightning

Dozens injured and 17 missing after lightning strike triggers huge fire at Cuban supertanker port

Maryam Zakir-Hussain
The Independent (UK)
Sat, 06 Aug 2022 10:15 UTC
A huge blaze raged through the night afte
© REUTERSA huge blaze raged through the night after a second tank was hit on Friday evening
Dozens of people have been injured and 17 firefighters are missing after lightning struck fuel storage tanks at a supertanker port in Cuba, sparking explosions and ferocious fires.

The blaze broke out during a thunderstorm on Friday night in the city of Matanzas and raged uncontrollably on Saturday despite fire crews' battling to quell it.

The official Cuban News Agency said a lightning strike set one oil tank on fire at Matanzas Supertanker Base and the blaze later spread to a second fuel storage container.

At least 67 people have been injured in four explosions and 17 firefighters remained unaccounted for, according to Cuban state-run television. Civilians had already been evacuated from the area.

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Fire

McKinney wildfire kills two as it becomes the biggest blaze in California this year

Sheila McClear
Los Angeles Magazine
Mon, 01 Aug 2022 18:28 UTC
the ruins of a property in the community of Klamath River, which burned in the McKinney Fire in Klamath National Forest, northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022.
© DAVID MCNEW/AFPThe ruins of a property in the community of Klamath River, which burned in the McKinney Fire in Klamath National Forest, northwest of Yreka, California, on July 31, 2022.
A wildfire in Northern California that started on Friday moved so quickly over the weekend that it's grown into the largest wildfire in the state this year, according to CNN. Thousands have been forced to evacuate and two people have been killed, their bodies found in a burned-out car.

The McKinney Fire began Friday afternoon in the Klamath National Forest near the California-Oregon border in Siskiyou County. So far it has burned through over 55,000 acres, causing 2,000 evacuations on Saturday, according authorities. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday.

The blaze was not under control on Sunday, with firefighters battling lightning, thunderstorms, and dry vegetation. Monday's efforts to fight the flames via aircraft were complicated by thick smoke in the area.

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