Welcome to Sott.net
Wed, 27 Sep 2023
The World for People who Think

Wildfires

Fire

52 wildfires break out in 24 hours across Greece


Euronews
Wed, 06 Jul 2022 17:31 UTC
The resort town of Itea, central Greece, has been encircled by the wildfire.
© Forecast Weather Greece
The resort town of Itea, central Greece, has been encircled by the wildfire.
An easing of winds overnight helped the Fire Service contain several blazes in different parts of Greece.

According to the Fire Service, 52 wildfires broke out on Monday, stoked by strong winds and high temperatures.

A wildfire burning uncontrollably on Monday evening across three fronts near the town of Amfissa, in the municipality of Delphi, central Greece, was partly brought under control on Tuesday, the Fire Service said.

Firefighters and volunteers battled with the flames through the night, taking advantage of the improved weather conditions.

      Read More...
Fire

Wildfire in southwest Turkey rages on


Euronews
Fri, 24 Jun 2022 11:54 UTC
Big Wildfire Forces Evacuations Near Turkish Marmaris Resort

Big wildfire forces evacuations near Turkish Marmaris resort
Firefighters battled a wildfire in southwestern Turkey from land and air on Thursday as high temperatures and winds fanned the blaze and dashed hopes it was contained, while authorities said they had detained a person in connection with the fire.

Scenes of burning woodland near the Aegean coastal resort of Marmaris sparked fears of a repeat of last year's fires that devastated tens of thousands of hectares (acres) across the region.

Reuters footage showed smoke billowing from hills and police water cannon vehicles helping firefighters as the blaze spread through the woodlands in the sparsely populated area.

      Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Multiple fires ignited in California following tens of thousands of lightning strikes

Bill Gabbert
Wildfire Today
Thu, 23 Jun 2022 17:20 UTC
Lightning, during the 24 hours ending at 6:15 a.m. PDT June 23, 2022.
© LightningMaps.org
Lightning, during the 24 hours ending at 6:15 a.m. PDT June 23, 2022.
As monsoonal moisture moved through Southern California Wednesday more than 50,000 lightning strikes were detected, starting wildfires and killing a woman and her two dogs who were walking in Pico Rivera.

Chris Vagasky, @COweatherman, tweeted that a total of 54,329 strikes were recorded across California on Wednesday UTC time.

Multiple fires suspected of being started by lightning occurred in Southern California, with most of them being suppressed while very small. The cause of the Thunder Fire east of Interstate 5 near the Grapevine north of Frazier Park is under investigation, but the suspected cause is lightning, said Captain Andrew Freeborn of the Kern County Fire Department. At 6:45 a.m. Thursday the Department reported it had burned approximately 2,300 acres and was being staffed by 250 personnel.


Comment: Woman, 2 dogs die after being struck by lightning near Los Angeles

      Read More...
Fire

Evacuations as forest fires hit across Spain

Chave Weather
YouTube
Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:42 UTC
A firefighter holds a hose to put out the forest fire near the NA-132 road in Tafalla.
© Eduardo Sanz/dpa
A firefighter holds a hose to put out the forest fire near the NA-132 road in Tafalla.
A series of forest fires have been seen across Spain on 15th and 16th June 2022.

Citizens were evacuated as fires spread quickly through rural areas.

Fire services worked to contain the blazes, with helicopters used over forests.

Among the areas affected are Valderrobres in Aragon, Sierra de Huelva and areas of Navarre and Catalonia.

The fires follow a period of dry weather across the country, with some being caused by lightning strikes.

      Read More...
Fire

Historic tundra fire spreads within 3.5 miles of St. Mary's, Alaska

Anna Rose MacArthur
Alaska Public Media
Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:52 UTC
In this aerial photo provided by the BLM Alaska
© Pat Johnson
In this aerial photo provided by the BLM Alaska Fire Service, the East Fork Fire burns about 25 miles north of St. Mary's, Alaska on June 2, 2022. The largest documented wildfire ever burning through tundra in southwest Alaska is within miles of two Alaska Native villages, prompting dozens of residents with respiratory problems to voluntarily evacuate.
A historically massive tundra fire is burning within approximately 3.5 miles from the lower Yukon River community of St. Mary's, according to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the fire agency responding to the blaze. The fire has moved 1.5 miles closer to the community since Saturday. It has also spread eastward and is approximately 7.5 miles from Pilot Station. To the west, it is burning 18 miles from Mountain Village. A second fire is burning 24 miles north of Mountain Village. Meanwhile, a different fire is moving closer to upper Kuskokwim River communities.

"The next 72 hours are critical," the BLM wrote in a statement on Sunday morning.

Approximately 145 people from St. Mary's, Pitkas Point, Mountain Village, and Pilot Station have flown to Bethel where they are being housed at the National Guard Armory and Gladys Jung Elementary School. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is organizing the flights and housing. On Saturday, eight Red Cross volunteers arrived in Bethel to assist.

      Read More...
Fire

New Mexico wildfire — one-quarter the size of Delaware — now largest in state's history

Susan Montoya Bryan
Las Cruces Sun-News
Wed, 18 May 2022 11:09 UTC
A wildfire in northern New Mexico
© ap
A wildfire in northern New Mexico has now burned through 405 square miles, an area bigger than Dallas, Texas. Overgrown mountainsides covered with Ponderosa pine and other trees sucked dry of moisture over decades are fueling the flames.
A monster blaze churning in northern New Mexico for more than a month has blackened enough acreage to earn a place in the state's record books.

Aside from being the largest wildfire currently burning in the U.S., the fire moving over the Sangre de Cristo mountain range is now the largest in the arid state's recorded history. It covers more than 465 square miles, or an area nearly one-quarter the size of Delaware.

More than 260 homes have burned and more evacuations were prompted over the weekend as the blaze moved through dry — and in some cases dead — stands of pine and fir trees. Huge columns of smoke could be seen from miles away, and fire officials and weather forecasts continue to refer to it as an unprecedented situation.

      Read More...
Fire

Taming the 2nd-largest wildfire in New Mexico history has been a 'nightmare,' firefighter says

Aya Elamroussi, Paul Vercammen
CNN
Fri, 06 May 2022 10:21 UTC
Firefighters on Thursday trying to hold the Calf Canyon/Hermit Peak Fire near Las Vegas, New Mexico.

Firefighters on Thursday trying to hold the Calf Canyon/Hermit Peak Fire near Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Taming the second-largest wildfire in New Mexico history has been a nightmare for crews who have been battling the blaze for more than a month, a firefighter said Thursday.

At one point, the ferocious Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire was spreading at 50 miles per hour, said Travis Regensberg, a general contractor brought in by New Mexico to help protect homes and buildings.

"It's been a nightmare," Regensberg told CNN on Thursday. "It's been really tough for us. I've been on this 17 days straight -- three, four hours of sleep a night to protect the communities here."

The firefighters have been protecting buildings by creating perimeter rings around them and using bulldozers to cut fire lines, he said. Additionally, they try to minimize harm to septic and well systems so that people have "a place to come back to," Regensberg said.

      Read More...
Fire

More than 1,000 firefighters battle 150 square mile wildfire in New Mexico


The Guardian
Sat, 30 Apr 2022 10:59 UTC
Hermit Peak Fire burning near the San Miguel and Mora County line, north of Sapello, New Mexico on Wednesday 27 April.
© Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal
Hermit Peak Fire burning near the San Miguel and Mora County line, north of Sapello, New Mexico on Wednesday 27 April.
More than 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the US on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a town in northern New Mexico.

Preliminary overnight mapping imagery indicated that the fire that has burned at least 166 homes grew in size from 103 square miles on Friday to 152 square miles by early Saturday, officials said.

Ash carried seven miles through the air fell on Las Vegas, population about 13,000, and firefighters were trying to prevent the blaze from getting closer, said Mike Johnson, a spokesperson for the fire management team.

Calmer winds on Saturday were aiding the firefighting effort after gusts accelerated the fire's advance to a point on Friday when "we were watching the fire march about a mile every hour", said Jayson Coil, a fire operations official.

      Read More...
Fire

Deadly fires continue out west, early in wildfire season


NBC News
Tue, 26 Apr 2022 11:41 UTC
This image provided by the Nebraska State Patrol shows smoke from a wildfire, Saturday, April 23, 2022 near Cambridge, Neb.
© Nebraska State Patrol
This image provided by the Nebraska State Patrol shows smoke from a wildfire, Saturday, April 23, 2022 near Cambridge, Neb.
Multiple wildfires continue to tear through several states across the west in an early start to fire season. The flames turned deadly with Nebraska authorities announcing a retired fire chief was killed and at least 15 others injured while battling the blaze.

      Read More...
Fire

'This is not typical': Arizona wildfire fighters brace for threat 'on steroids'

Gabrielle Canon and agencies
The Guardian
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 11:42 UTC
Smoke drifts from the Tunnel Fire north of Flagstaff, Arizona, this week.
© Reuters
Smoke drifts from the Tunnel Fire north of Flagstaff, Arizona, this week.
Firefighters working to keep more homes from burning on the edge of a mountain town in northern Arizona were treated to scattered showers and cooler temperatures early on Friday, but the favorable weather was not expected to last as more ferocious winds were forecast to batter parts of Arizona and all of New Mexico through the weekend.

The combination of high winds, warmer temperatures and extremely dry conditions will make for an atmosphere that's "pretty much on steroids", said Scott Overpeck, with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"This is not typical," he said, looking ahead to what could be explosive fire growth on Friday. "This is really one of those days we need to be on our toes and we need to be ready."

The weather conditions will complicate the firefight on a half-dozen large wildfires burning in the American south-west.

      Read More...
Revolt! T-shirts