Wildfires
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Fire

India sees "really alarming" 55% increase in forest fires this year

Mohit M. Rao
The Hindu
Thu, 22 Dec 2016 03:53 UTC
India forest fires
With fires raging across Central Indian forests and the Himalayan Pine forests, the frequency of such blazes has risen by a drastic 55 per cent in the past year.

The number has touched 24,817 in 2016, a "really alarming" rise, from around 15,937 fires in 2015, says the report by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Renuka Choudhary, submitted on December 16. The committee has suggested a national policy on managing forest fires.

The increase is seen even though 2015, considered a drought year, had seen a decline in frequency of forest fires of around 16 per cent.

The three central States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh contribute a third of the forest fires. Madhya Pradesh has seen a nearly ten-fold increase, from just 294 in 2015 to more than 2,600 in 2016.

The committee was formed after a series of devastating forest fires earlier this year, including the prolonged one that charred 4,000 hectares of forest land across 13 districts of Uttarakhand.

Comment: Another 'prominent factor' could be outgassing, possibly 'sparked' by an increase in atmospheric electric discharge events, such as lightning strikes and other 'cosmic' ignition sources?

This week a rare winter wildfire ignited in Alaska, despite a foot of snow on the ground and forest fires broke out in Switzerland (in the dead of winter!)

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Fireball 3

Wildfires in southern Switzerland: what exactly happened here?

Sacha Dobler
Abrupt Earth Changes
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 18:02 UTC
Wildfire Mesocco, Switzerland patches of burnt forest floor
Wildfire Mesocco, Switzerland patches of burnt forest floor.
Several extensive and fast spreading forest fires rage in southern Switzerland, the first of them started on Tuesday night, Dec. 27th, 2016 in the mountains above the towns of Mesocco and Soazza, in the canton of Grison, Switzerland. One more forest fire started in the nearby Calanca valley. A further wildfire in the Leventina valley several dozen kilometers distance was immediately declared to be caused be a campfire of four careless teenagers.

No particular causes other then dry conditions and winds have been proposed for the other two locations. (winds were indeed moderate on site, no high wind speeds were recorded in the models of the Meterological Institute)
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Fire

Rare winter wildfire ignites despite snow on the ground in Delta, Alaska


Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 17:41 UTC
Delta, Alaska
Delta, Alaska
A winter wildfire broke out near the Delta Junction High School last week despite the presence of more than a foot of snow on the ground.

The fire was spotted Dec. 20 by a woman walking her dog on the trails, according to a news release from the Alaska Division of Forestry.

Fire management officer Mike Goyette went to the fire Dec. 21 and found it burning and smoldering in the duff — the layer of dead plant material in the soil. Goyette estimated the fire covered a 50-by-20-foot area and caused between 20 and 30 trees to tip over from having their roots burned.

Goyette and a technician cut down the trees and put the burning moss and duff in a pile to burn itself out and keep the fire from spreading.

Comment: See also this other similar recent report: Forest fires break out in eastern Switzerland (in the dead of winter!)

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Fire

Forest fires break out in eastern Switzerland (in the dead of winter!)


The Local, CH
Thu, 29 Dec 2016 14:50 UTC
wildfires switzerland
© Graubünden police
The Swiss army has been drafted in to help battle a huge forest fire in Graubünden amid reports of a separate fire in the eastern canton.

Cantonal police said on Thursday that several army firefighting helicopters had been in use since Wednesday morning to tackle the flames covering a wooded area between the villages of Mesocco and Soazza.

The army is being supported by civilian firms.

The blaze was reported shortly before 6pm on Tuesday evening.

"Owing to the strong winds the fire has spread from an area 200 metres by 600 metres to an area 600 metres by 1,200 metres," the police statement said.

Comment: Campfires or not, forest fires during a European continental winter are not exactly normal. Outgassing may be a factor here.

Video, courtesy of the Abrupt Earth Changes blog:



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USA

The United States' 10 most extreme weather events of 2016

Jason Samenow
Washington Post
Tue, 27 Dec 2016 09:28 UTC
In 2016, of all the weather events to affect the nation, four stood out: a hurricane, a flood, a drought and a blizzard. These four were historic and extreme, setting numerous records and affecting large areas. Unfortunately, they caused a great deal of suffering and economic losses.

Six other storm events, which were more localized, round out the top 10.

Tornadoes were not among this year's most significant weather events. This year was, generally, a quiet year both in terms of the overall number of tornadoes and tornado fatalities.

Much more than wind, in 2016, water (or, in one case, lack of water) caused the lion's share of weather-related deaths and damages.

As seven of the top 10 weather events involved extreme rainfall, and several 1-in-1,000 year events, perhaps you could call it the year of the flood.

Without further ado, here is our rundown of the most significant and extreme weather events of 2016 in the Lower 48:

1. Hurricane Matthew (September-October)

Hurricane Matthew floodwaters
© Chris Keane/ReutersFuel tanks are seen after floodwaters rose because of Hurricane Matthew in Lumberton, N.C.

Comment: For more coverage on the extreme weather affecting the entire planet, check out our monthly SOTT Earth Changes Summaries. Last month:

SOTT Earth Changes Summary - November 2016: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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Family

Dolly Parton plans to donate $1,000 per month to families affected by Tennessee wildfires, as number of injured and dead rises


RT
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:16 UTC
Tennessee fires
© Brian Blanco/Getty Images / AFPGatlinburg, Tennessee
The death toll from wildfires that ravaged the eastern Tennessee communities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge has risen to 10. Country music star Dolly Parton is leading an effort to help the area ‒ her birthplace and home of her Dollywood resort.

The blaze, which began in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and spread rapidly into Gatlinburg on Monday, burned 15,000 acres and damaged or destroyed more than 700 buildings - about 300 in Gatlinburg alone - according to Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters.

Initially, four people were believed to have perished in the flames, until the authorities discovered three more bodies at a burned-out residence on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, three more deaths were counted, bringing the total to 10, WBIR reported.
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Fire

Air and ground footage of deadly Tennessee wildfire


RT
Thu, 01 Dec 2016 15:29 UTC
tennessee wildfires
© Tennessee Highway Patrol / ReutersFirefighters stand by a destroyed home after a wildfire forced the mandatory evacuation of Gatlinburg, Tennessee in a picture released November 30, 2016.
As enormous wildfires continue to rage across the southeast United States, alarming footage of the latest eruption in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was caught from both the ground and air.

Ten people have died from the fires that moved eastward from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park towards homes in eastern Tennessee, WBIR reported Thursday. That is up from a previous death toll of seven. More than 50 people were injured, and over 700 buildings were burned beyond repair in Sevier County.

Thousands of people were ordered to evacuate Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Monday night after a wildfire erupted on Chimney Tops mountain and spread into the nearby towns - resulting in the death of seven people.
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Fire

Apocalyptic scenes following devastating wildfires in Tennessee (PHOTOS & VIDEOS)

Regina F. Graham and Hannah Parry
Daily Mail (UK)
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 22:05 UTC
Gatlingburg wildfire damage
© ddp USA/REX/ShutterstockOfficials estimate that more than 100 structures have been destroyed or damaged from the blaze. Above multiple burned business and vehicles along Cherokee Orchard Road in Gatlinburg.
Devastating Tennessee wildfires in two resort towns have left at least three people dead after the blazes fueled by high-speed winds ripped through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge destroying more than 100 homes, hotels and businesses, and leaving the areas resembling an 'apocalypse'.

Aerial pictures reveal the true scale of the devastation after homes were reduced to smoldering piles of rubble by the blaze.

Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said at an afternoon news conference on Tuesday that authorities found at least three people dead.

'We do not have further information on them at this time,' Waters said. 'We are continuing to notify next of kin.'

Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller told reporters it's unclear if there are more people who died in the raging wildfires, as they 'have not been able to get into all the areas.'

'This is one for the history books,' Miller said at a morning news conference. 'The likes of this has never been seen. But the worst is definitely over with.'


Comment: The unprecedented fire began when embers from a wildfire on nearby Chimney Tops Trail in the national park blew into Gatlinburg about 6 p.m. Monday as the heavy winds doubled in speed, according to Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller. Although arson suspects have been arrested in connection with separate fires this fall, it was not immediately clear what initially sparked this fire.

Cassius Cash, the park's superintendent, said the Chimney Tops fire burned about 50 acres on Sunday. By Tuesday evening, the National Park Service said the wildfire spanned more than 15,000 acres in the park and the Gatlinburg area.

"In my 25 years of federal (park) service, I've participated in many fires, but none of that could have prepared me for this," Cash said.

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

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Fire

Wildfire in Tennessee threatening homes and businesses, residents forced to evacuate


RT
Tue, 29 Nov 2016 19:45 UTC
gatlinburg wildfire
© @thepooh912 / Twitter
A roaring 500-acre fire is threatening structures in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where officials have ordered mandatory evacuations. Roads near Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed, as firefighters battle the flames and gusty winds.

There have been no fatalities so far, but three burn victims are in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, the Tennessean reported.

More than 100 structures have been destroyed by the massive fire, including the home of Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner.

"It's very dangerous weather conditions," Dana Soehn with the National Park Service told WATE. "We've had trees coming down, limbs coming down and the fire is continuing to grow."


Comment: So far the dangerous wildfires have led to the following:
  • More than 14,000 people have been forced to evacuate from resort towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
  • Roughly 400 homes and structures were damaged
  • Four people suffered severe burns trying to evacuate and are hospitalized
  • Westgate Resorts, a 16-story hotel and every cabin at Black Bear Falls is believed to have been destroyed
  • Schools in Green, McMinn and Sevier counties will are closed, and more than 12,000 people in Sevier County were without power as of early Tuesday morning
  • Dollywood was evacuated and tourists fled the area as wildfires ripped through Eastern Tennessee Monday
There are a number of images of the destruction available here.

Update: 3 people have been confirmed killed by the wildfires in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

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Fire

Wildfires in Israel force over 80,000 people to evacuate Haifa, Netanyahu blames 'arsonist terrorism'


RT
Thu, 24 Nov 2016 21:03 UTC
Israeli firefighters
© Baz Ratner / ReutersFirefighters work as a wildfire burns in the northern city of Haifa, Israel November 24, 2016.
Tens of thousands of people were told to immediately evacuate Israel's third largest city, Haifa, as wildfires encouraged by extreme wind rage through the country for the third day.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed "arsonist terrorism" for the blaze.

More than 80,000 people were forced to leave their homes and rush from Haifa while authorities struggle to bring the fire under control. It has been spreading especially quickly due to dry weather and strong winds.
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