Wildfires
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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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Fire

Fire and floods across western Canada force evacuations

Nia Williams
Reuters
Sat, 06 May 2023 10:17 UTC
A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada May 4, 2023.
© Alberta WildfireA smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada May 4, 2023.
A week of record hot weather in western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia.

By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta, as 78 fires burned. Among the worst-hit areas was the territory of the Little Red River Cree Nation, which comprises three communities in the north of the province, where the 1,458-hectare (3609-acre) Fox Lake fire consumed 20 homes and the police station.

The entire 7,000-strong population of Drayton Valley, 140 km (87 miles) west of the provincial capital Edmonton, was also ordered to evacuate late on Thursday night.

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Fire

First major wildfire of year in Spain burns through 4,000 hectares


The Independent (UK)
Mon, 27 Mar 2023 12:20 UTC
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Spain's first major wildfire of 2023 has scorched more than 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) of forest in the Valencia region.

Footage shows emergency services battling the raging flames on Sunday (26 March), with 500 firefighters supported by 20 planes and helicopters in an attempt to bring the blaze under control near the village of Villanueva de Viver.

Ximo Puig, president of the Valencia region, said the fire was made more "voracious" by summer-like temperatures of 30C.

Around 1,500 people have been forced to leave their homes as the fire rages.

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Fire

At least 26 dead and 2,000 injured as wildfires rage out of control across Chile

Aicha El Hammar Castano and Jon Haworth
southernillinoisnow.com
Sat, 11 Feb 2023 12:09 UTC
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Wildfires that have been raging across Chile for more than a week have now killed at least 26 people and left more than 2,000 injured.

Over 1,500 homes have also been completely destroyed by the fires, leaving thousands more homeless as a heatwave has enveloped the region with temperatures reaching upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chile's Interior Ministry confirmed to ABC News that, so far, more than 889,000 acres of forests have been destroyed so far in the Andean nation.

Over 6,000 firefighters — many of them mainly volunteers — are currently on the ground trying to control more than 323 active fires, including 90 that are raging out of control, according to officials.

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Cloud Precipitation

Chile - Floods in north as wildfires blaze in southern regions

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Mon, 06 Feb 2023 12:30 UTC
Flooded roads in Calama, Chile, February 2023
© Government of CalamaFlooded roads in Calama, Chile, February 2023
Dozens of families were left isolated after flash floods cut roads in El Loa Province in the region of Antofagasta, northern Chile, on 04 February 2023.

The local government reported heavy rain and flooding in several parts of the province. Around 50 families were left isolated in the town of Lasana after damaging floods washed away parts of the road network. Areas of the city of Calama were also affected and the important road connecting Calama to San Pedro de Atacama was blocked.

Videos shared on Social Media showed homes and streets inundated and water cascading down mountainsides.

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Fire

Chile widens state of emergency as raging wildfires leave at least 13 dead


Guardian
Sat, 04 Feb 2023 12:53 UTC
A firefighter works as a wildfire burns parts of
© Juan González/ReutersA firefighter works as a wildfire burns parts of rural areas in Quillón, Chile, on Thursday.
Chile's government has declared a widened state of emergency amid wildfires that have killed at least 13 people and consumed about 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres), as the South American country endures a summer heatwave across southern and central swaths of the country.

The interior minister, Carolina Toha, said on Friday morning the government had declared a catastrophe in the region of Biobío, joining its neighbouring region Ñuble, which President Gabriel Boric announced on Thursday evening, allowing the deployment of soldiers and additional resources.

Eleven people, including a firefighter, had died in the Biobío town of Santa Juana, local authorities said.

The agriculture minister, Esteban Valenzuela, also reported an emergency-support helicopter in the southern region of La Araucanía had crashed, killing the pilot and a mechanic.

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Fire

Chile heat wave exacerbates forest fires, causes public health risk


saltwire.com
Sat, 17 Dec 2022 11:41 UTC
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A heat wave that has hit Chile this week with record temperatures in some areas and a lack of rainfall has intensified forest fires that have already burned more than 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres)in the South American nation.

Dozens of people have had to evacuate their homes because of the fires and the capital Santiago is under a public health alert due to a cloud of smoke, officials said on Friday.

The state-owned National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) said firefighters were currently tackling 18 fires concentrated in the country's central regions, as well as a smaller number in the south.

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