Wildfires
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Fire

South Australian wildfire kills at least 2 and injures others

Australian firefighter
A clock frozen in time in the local bowls club destroyed by fire in the mid-north town of Wasleys in South Australia.

Firefighters spent yesterday searching burnt-out cars and homes after the blaze raged across a 40km front.

The Premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill, took to Twitter to offer condolences to the families affected and thanked the hundreds of firefighters deployed in the area.

"We also know that there have been extraordinary losses of livestock and wildlife", the ABC quoted Weatherill as saying.

The South Australian deaths come after a blaze in the Esperence area of WA last week claimed the lives of three tourists and a local farmer.

"We can't be entirely sure we have identified every single person within the fire ground", Mr Weatherill said.

Fire

Man films dramatic bushfire escape in South Australia

driving through brushfire
© youtube/BBC News

An Australian man has filmed his terrifying trip through the heart of a bushfire.


George Hooker told the BBC he was driving near Hamley Bridge in South Australia when smoke and flames engulfed his car.

He kept filming on his phone with one hand even as the fire front raced towards him.

Two people have died and 13 hospitalised in the fires burning north of Adelaide.

"There were flames licking at the car, cinders and twigs blowing up against it," Mr Hooker said.

"If I stopped I would have been dead so I just kept going not really thinking much at all."

Comment: See also: Major wildfire kills two as farm animals burned alive in southern Australia


Fire

Major wildfire kills two as farm animals burned alive in southern Australia

Australia wildfires
© AAP
A "fast-moving and dangerous" bush fire leaves two people dead, with thousands of animals thought to have been burned alive.

Firefighters are battling to control a major wildfire in southern Australia which has killed two people and thousands of livestock.

Around 200 firefighters and several aircraft have reportedly been deployed to try and control the blaze, which is burning across a 27-mile front near Adelaide.

One person died in a paddock while a second died in a car, Australian media reported.

Comment: It is not only Australia where the "length and intensity of the fire season" is increasing. A study has shown that wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth.

Globally we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker. The Amazon jungle is going up in smoke with tens of thousands of wildfires so far this year. Wildfires in Indonesia are causing a toxic haze which threatens millions in southeast Asia.

Rather than attributing this increase to "climate change" which "causes temperatures to rise", could a significant factor in the escalation of these wildfires be that they are fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?


Blue Planet

UN Report: Major rise in weather disasters over last 2 decades

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© AFPA flood-affected resident swims through floodwaters in Kalay, upper Myanmar’s Sagaing region on August 3, 2015. Relentless monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads with fast-flowing waters hampering relief efforts.
Since 1995, weather disasters have killed millions of people & left billions injured & homeless.

Weather-related disasters such as floods and heatwaves have occurred almost daily in the past decade, almost twice as often as two decades ago, with Asia being the hardest hit region, a UN report said on Monday.

While the report authors could not pin the increase wholly on climate change, they did say that the upward trend was likely to continue as extreme weather events increased.

Since 1995, weather disasters have killed millions of people, left billions injured, homeless or in need of aid, and accounted for 90 percent of all disasters, it said.

A recent peak year was 2002, when drought in India hit 200 million and a sandstorm in China affected 100 million.

But the standout mega-disaster was Cyclone Nargis, which killed 138,000 in Myanmar in 2008.

Fire

Third 'once-a-century' drought in 15 years: Tens of thousands of wildfires so far this year as Amazon jungle goes up in smoke

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The fires follow months of extreme drought in the country's southern states, which experts say is caused by climate change and deforestation.

Brazil's central Amazonas region has registered at least 906 active forest fires due to severe drought in the region, according to a new government report.

The Brazilian Institute for Space Research, known as INPE, reported Sunday that satellites had detected the fires, which account for over 59 percent of all active fires in Brazil.

The region most affected has been the northern state of Amazonas, the heart of the largest rainforest in the world. The region has already seen 11,114 forest fires since January of this year - a 47 percent rise compared to the same period last year, said INPE.

The state capital Manaus has been wreathed in smoke, causing issues for those with respiratory diseases. The smoke has failed to disperse because of the lack of rain and winds in the region lately.

Comment: This is the third 'once-in-a-century' drought the region has had in 15 years...
'Amazon rainforest hit by second 'once in a century drought' in five years'

Daily Mail, 4 February 2011

The Amazon has been hit by its second 'once in a century' drought in five years, scientists say.

A study found that last year's drought was even more severe and more widespread than the disastrous water shortages that gripped the world's largest rainforest in 2005.

The extended dry season is thought to have wiped out swathes of the Amazon, killing millions of trees, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals.
As with the explosion in wildfires in North America, the Arctic, Southeast Asia and elsewhere, we suspect that the vast majority of these fires are not man-made.


Fire

Four killed as out-of-control bushfires burn in Western Australia

Australia bush fire
© Kate SaintyThe fires were started by strikes of lightning.
Four people have been killed and there are fears for two others caught in bushfires in Western Australia.

Hundreds of firefighters are battling major blazes that were reportedly sparked by lightning over the weekend.

The worst of the blazes are north of the coastal town of Esperance, 720km south-east of Perth.

Strong winds with gusts up to 90km/h (56mph) have hampered efforts to bring the fires under control.

They are the first serious bushfires of the Australian summer.

Cloud Lightning

Lightning strikes start bushfires in Goomalling, Kalbarri, Australia

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© Matt Fricker and Perth Weather LiveA tree fallen across the Goomallng-Toodyay Road after lightning strikes around the Wheatbelt.

Lightening strikes are believed to have sparked several bushfires across WA on Saturday.

Thunderstorms and lightning strikes in the Wheatbelt are believed to have sparked fires west of Goomalling on Saturday afternoon.

Pictures of fallen down trees on major roads near Goomalling, which is about 45km northeast of Northam, also emerged online.

Fire

Fire power: Hill in Wyoming ablaze within seconds threatening dozens of homes

Dead horse hill fire
© Dark Veteran / YouTube

A video posted on YouTube shows a fire racing up a hill, turning it from pale yellow to charred black in a matter of seconds. The unbelievable speedy blaze put 30 to 50 homes in danger and triggered evacuation warnings.

Around 30 acres of land were affected by the fire, but luckily no one was injured and neither did any homes burn down in Dead Horse Hill in Casper, Wyoming.

"Oh my God. It's so scary. It's crazy!" you can hear someone say on the clip.

Comment: All over the world we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker.

A record 52 percent of the U.S. Forest Service's budget was dedicated to fighting wildfires this year, compared to 16 percent in 1995. Two massive wildfires that burned up parts of Northern California did nearly $2 billion in damage according to one insurance company.

Could some of these wildfires have been fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources? See also:

Study: Wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth


Fire

Massive Amazon wildfire destroys forest in Brazil and threatens uncontacted tribe

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© Marizilda Cruppe/Greenpeace An aerial picture released by Greenpeace shows forest fires in the indigenous lands in Arariboia, Maranhão.
Brazilian rangers, firefighters and indigenous communities are battling against a wildfire that has blazed for two months and devastated some of the last Amazonian forest in the northern state of Maranhão, including part of the territory of an uncontacted tribe.

The fire - which has spread across 100km at its peak - is thought to be the biggest in Indian territory for decades and has prompted the local government to declare a state of emergency.

It comes amid rising tension between indigenous "forest guardians" and illegal loggers, prompting speculation among officials and environmentalists that the blaze may have been started deliberately.

According to Greenpeace, the fire has already consumed 45% of the 413,000-hectare (1m acre) Indigenous Territory of Arariboia, despite the efforts of 250 firefighters.

Worst affected are the 12,000 people from the Guajajara ethnic group, whose communities have been surrounded by flames. There are also fears for the approximately 80 members of the Awá-Guajá, an uncontacted tribe.


Fire

Toxic haze threatens millions in southeast Asia, as Indonesia's wildfires continue

Indonesia wildfires
© Hugo Hudoyoko/EPAAn Indonesian woman rides a motorbike amid thick haze in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo is cutting short his visit to the US to deal with a growing environmental crisis back home.

Wildfires across the length of his country over the last few months have thrown up huge clouds of smoke that now hang over much of southeast Asia, from Malaysia and Singapore, across Indonesia, to Papua New Guinea.

The Indonesian Disaster Agency estimates 500,000 people have developed respiratory problems since the fires began in July. Millions of people are dealing with smoke levels roughly 10 times the level the World Health Organization considers hazardous.

"It's hard for people to imagine how serious this is," says Nigel Sizer, forests director for the World Resources Institute, an environmental research group in Washington. Sizer was in Indonesia for the summer and is heading back next week.

"This is literally almost off the charts in terms of air quality," adds Sizer. "It's like you're staring through thick bonfire smoke day after day. ... It's an extraordinary situation."

Comment: According to researchers some of the noxious components of the smoke include: ozone, carbon monoxide, cyanide, ammonia and formaldehyde, which is "extremely hazardous" for health, prompting child evacuation plans to be prepared.

Martin Wooster, Professor of Earth Observation Science at King's College London and National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) states:
"I've visited quite a few sites of biomass burning during my 10 years or so of research in the area. And I can certainly say this is the worst situation I've ever encountered for biomass burning or any form of combustion in a natural environment,"
All over the world we are witnessing extensive wildfires, which in some regions have been described as "unprecedented". The National Interagency Fire Center has described the 2015 wildfire season in the United States as a record breaker.

Could some of these wildfires have been fueled from outgassing, then possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources? See also:

Study: Wildfire seasons are more destructive and lasting longer almost everywhere on Earth