Wildfires
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Fire

Canada's record-breaking wildfires burned more than 10 million hectares this year with 906 fires still active


France24
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 13:04 UTC
An aerial view of the Texas Creek wildfire in British Columbia, Canada, provided by the British Columbia Wildfire Service on July 9, 2023.
© British Columbia Wildfire ServiceAn aerial view of the Texas Creek wildfire in British Columbia, Canada, provided by the British Columbia Wildfire Service on July 9, 2023.
The prior all-time high occurred in 1989, when 7.3 million hectares were burned over the course of an entire year, according to national figures from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).

The area burned this year, in just six and a half months, is roughly equivalent to the size of Portugal or Iceland.

In total, 4,088 fires have occurred since January, including many blazes that have scorched hundreds of thousands of hectares.

More than 150,000 people have been displaced, and a 19-year-old firefighter died Thursday.

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Fire

Thousands evacuated as wildfire hits La Palma in Canary Islands


news.stv
Sat, 15 Jul 2023 12:49 UTC
La Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago off Africa’s western coast.
© PA MediaLa Palma, with a population of 85,000, is one of eight members of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago off Africa’s western coast.
More than 2,000 people have been evacuated as a wildfire rages "out of control" on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands, destroying around a dozen homes, authorities have said.

The blaze has affected an area of about 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) and officials warned residents the situation could worsen because a heatwave has made the terrain tinder-dry.

"The fire has spread very fast," Canary Islands regional president Fernando Clavijo said.

"The fire is out of control."

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Fire

Smoke from Canadian wildfires hits Norway and flows to southern Europe

Dani Anguiano
Guardian
Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:49 UTC
Sudbury 17 wildfire burns east of Mississagi
© APSudbury 17 wildfire burns east of Mississagi provincial park near Elliot Lake, Ontario, on 4 June 2023.
Smoke from Canadian wildfires that has descended upon parts of the eastern US and Canada in a thick haze has drifted over Norway and is expected to hit southern Europe, Norwegian officials said on Friday.

Using a climate forecast model, atmosphere and climate scientists with the Norwegian climate and environmental research institute (NILU) predicted how the smoke would travel through the atmosphere, flowing over the Scandinavian country before moving further south. The smoke was not expected to pose a health risk there.

"Smoke from the forest fires in Canada is still drifting in over Norway. It will also reach other parts of Europe over the next few days," the institute said on Twitter.
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Fire

Best of the Web: Air quality levels in parts of the U.S. plunge as Canada wildfires rage

Denise Chow and Evan Bush
NBC News
Wed, 07 Jun 2023 16:39 UTC
A screenshot of a radar-based analysis by the
© NOAAA screenshot of a radar-based analysis by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration taken late Tuesday afternoon shows near-surface smoke over the U.S.
Millions of people in the eastern U.S. faced unhealthy air quality conditions Tuesday as smoke from wildfires in eastern Canada wafts over much of the country.

An air quality advisory was in effect for several regions of New York state Tuesday. Air monitoring stations in some parts of New York City showed measures considered unhealthy for anyone Tuesday afternoon.

New York City ranked second and Detroit third among major cities for the worst air quality worldwide around 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to IQAir, a Swiss air monitoring company.

"Try to limit your outdoor activities today to the absolute necessities," Mayor Eric Adams advised anyone with breathing issues on Twitter.

It was the second day of hazy skies across a wide stretch of the country. Smoke blanketed the landscape from the Ohio Valley to as far south as the Carolinas on Monday. Air quality advisories were in effect Monday in southeastern Minnesota and parts of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, as well as in more than 60 counties in Wisconsin.


Comment: Wildfire smoke blankets much of Canada, raising health risks

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Fire

Wildfire smoke blankets much of Canada, raising health risks


CBC News
Tue, 06 Jun 2023 19:25 UTC
The East side of the Paskwa fire burns in the High Level Forest Area district of Alberta in a May 9, 2023, handout photo.
© HO-Government of Alberta Fire ServiceThe East side of the Paskwa fire burns in the High Level Forest Area district of Alberta in a May 9, 2023, handout photo.

Hundreds of wildfires have left much of the country blanketed in smoke and smog that brings real health risks — especially for vulnerable children and seniors, pregnant people, and those with asthma and heart or lung disease.

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Fire

Donnie Creek wildfire now larger than all fires in British Columbia last year combined

Rajpreet Sahota
cjdctv.com
Wed, 31 May 2023 18:29 UTC
The Donnie Creek wildfire.
© BCWS.The Donnie Creek wildfire.
The Donnie Creek fire has grown in size yet again.

According to the B.C. Wildfire, the fire is bigger than all of the fires that burned in B.C. last summer combined. It is 168,395 hectares, an increase from yesterday's size of 157,500 hectares.

The weather is contributing to fire activity. The clouds are decreasing the fire activity since yesterday compared to the erratic activity from the weekend. However, the fire is pushing southeast due to winds from the west.

"We are looking at warmer temperatures tomorrow and full sun. No precipitation coming either. And, the relative humidity is dropping and that just means the air is getting drier around the fires," explains B.C. Wildfire's Information Officer Bryan Zandberg.

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Fire

Firefighters tackle Scottish Highlands wildfire that may become UK's largest ever

Vivian Ho
Guardian
Wed, 31 May 2023 11:58 UTC
A Nasa worldview satellite photograph shows the plume of smoke from the fire at Cannich, in the hills above Loch Ness in the Highlands,
© Nasa/PAA Nasa worldview satellite photograph shows the plume of smoke from the fire at Cannich, in the hills above Loch Ness in the Highlands, drifting towards the loch on Monday.
Firefighters have spent four days battling a wildfire in the Scottish Highlands that officials believe is on its way to becoming the largest by area on record in the UK and which has been photographed from space.

The fire broke out at Cannich near Inverness on Sunday and has grown to an area measuring roughly 8km by 8km (24 square miles). Two firefighters were injured on Tuesday after being in an accident in their all-terrain vehicle while tackling the blaze. They have since been discharged from the hospital, the community safety minister, Siobhian Brown, said in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday.

While firefighters are still investigating the cause of the fire, the Scottish fire and rescue service is appealing to the public to take great care when outdoors.

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Fire

Best of the Web: Nova Scotia wildfire: Raging blaze forces 16,000+ residents from their homes


Global News
Mon, 29 May 2023 14:21 UTC
Marion and Peter Gillespie said they couldn't see the road because of the smoke and flames.
Marion and Peter Gillespie said they couldn't see the road because of the smoke and flames.
A wildfire burning out-of-control near Halifax has forced more than 16,000 people from their homes, and the situation is worsening due to dry weather and gusting winds.

No injuries or missing people have been reported as a result of the blaze, but its impact has been devastating and the province remains on edge.

Global's Callum Smith reports on the race to contain the fire in the Tantallon, N.S., and Hammonds Plains, N.S., areas, and the financial support the government is offering evacuees.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9729777/ha...

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Fire

150 wildfires continue to burn across northern Alberta and British Columbia - smoke chokes skies across America's northern tier

Scott Sistek
Fox Weather
Fri, 19 May 2023 10:15 UTC
Wildfire smoke covers the Denver skyline on May 19, 2023.
© Colorado Department of Public Health & EnvironmentWildfire smoke covers the Denver skyline on May 19, 2023.
Thick smoke from Canadian wildfires has pushed across the border into America's northern tier states this week, blanketing several states in a milky orange-tinged haze and sending air quality to hazardous levels in a few areas.

Around 150 wildfires are burning across northern Alberta and British Columbia, pouring acrid smoke across western Canada that is carrying south into the United States along the upper-level winds. Smoke has reached into the Pacific Northwest, Rockies, northern Plains and even into the Great Lakes and Mississippi Valley.

Smoky skies have been reported as far south as St. Louis and Paducah, Kentucky and as far west as Seattle and Denver.

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Fire

21 die as fires rage in swaths of Russia's Urals (UPDATE)


The Jerusalem Post
Mon, 08 May 2023 09:35 UTC
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Raging wildfires blot out Sun, turn sky red in Kurgan Region, Russia.
Raging fires have consumed swaths of Russia's Urals mountains, killing at least four people, razing hundreds of homes, forcing evacuations and spurring investigations, officials said on Sunday.

Wildfires are common in late spring and summer across Russia's vast forests and grassy steppes, but some recent blazes have fanned suspicions of negligence.

The fires spread to some settlements in the southern region of Kurgan, prompting a visit by Alexander Kurenkov, the emergency minister, early on Monday.

"A difficult situation has developed," Kurenkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.


Comment: Update May 9

The Associated Press reports:
The death toll from wildfires in Russia's Ural Mountains rose to 21 Tuesday, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing local emergency service agencies.

Wildfires have raged in the Kurgan region of the Urals and in Siberia all week. A resident of western Siberia's Tyumen province died while attempting to extinguish a fire.

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According to local authorities, most of the deaths occurred Sunday in the Kurgan province village of Yuldus, which is located on the border between the Ural Mountains and Siberia.

"The death toll may increase," regional emergency service officials said.

A state of emergency was introduced in the province, where more than 5,000 buildings have burned down. Fires also have engulfed thousands of hectares (acres) in Sverdlovsk province, and in Siberia's Omsk and Tyumen provinces.

During a Monday visit to Kurgan province, Russia's emergency situations minister of Emergency Situations said settlements were no longer at risk from the blazes, though local media reported Tuesday that fires still burned there, as well as in Sverdlovsk and Tyumen.


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