Blazes across New South Wales and Queensland have driven families from their homes, threatened towns and advanced on an explosive storage facility, prompting residents to evacuate.
Dozens of properties have been damaged as firefighters battle to contain more than 200 blazes across the states amid windy, dry conditions.
Queensland's premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, told reporters on Tuesday evening she had witnessed "very distressing" scenes on the ground, particularly in the hard-hit community of Tara.
"Some people have lost everything," she said. "I think everybody is feeling absolutely broken with what's been happening out there."
The wildfire smoke from the Highland Fire has reduced air quality across Southern California. An Air Quality Alert has been issued for cities including Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario, San Marcos and Poway.
A large wildfire in Southern California continues to rapidly spread after destroying multiple structures and forcing evacuations in Riverside County.
The Highland Fire broke out Monday afternoon near Highlands and Aguanga Ranchos roads, the Riverside County Fire Department said. As of the latest update, the fire is currently mapped at more than 2,400 acres and is 15% contained.
More than 300 firefighters are working to put out the fire that's destroyed at least seven structures and damaged six others as of Tuesday, Cal Fire officials reported. More than 2,300 structures are threatened by the blaze, according to Cal Fire.
Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Tokyo warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 12000 ft (3700 m) altitude or flight level 120 and is moving at 20 kts in SE direction.
Catarina Demony Reuters Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:59 UTC
Portugal on Friday sent firefighters from the mainland to the Atlantic island of Madeira, boosting local efforts to tackle large wildfires as authorities said 13 tourists who were forced to hide in a cave to escape the flames had been found.
Fires are sweeping across areas of two neighbouring municipalities on the west coast, Calheta and Porto Moniz, burning in hard-to-reach areas amid unseasonably high temperatures expected to top 30 degrees Celsius (86°F) on Friday.
The Civil Protection authority on Friday morning located the missing tourists. They had fled to a cave in a mountainous part of Porto Moniz and an operation to rescue them from the area was under way, it said on social media.
"It was a complicated night, a difficult night," Civil Protection secretary of state Patricia Gaspar told public broadcaster RTP at Lisbon's military airport. "The fires are still ongoing."
Authorities in Tenerife have evacuated about 3,000 people overnight as a wildfire sparked by high temperatures and strong winds raged in a forest already ravaged by a blaze in August.
The wildfire is centred in the mountainous northeast of the Spanish island, away from the main tourist areas.
More than 300 forest and peatland fires on Indonesia's Sumatra island caused hazy skies across the region on Monday, prompting government officials to ask people to work from home.
The military, police and local government were working together to extinguish the fires, which were burning in 316 places across South Sumatra province, but their work was complicated by the extreme dry weather, said Iriansyah, the head of the South Sumatra Disaster Management Agency.
The smoky haze drifted from the fires toward Palembang, the capital of South Palembang province, causing unhealthy air conditions for the area's 1.7 million people.
"There is a high potential for people to suffer from respiratory tract infections, coughing, shortness of breath and eye irritation," said Iriansyah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
The government in South Sumatra last week called on schools to delay their opening time, as the haze tends to decrease during the day. But on Monday, the schools asked students to attend classes online, as the air quality had worsened and was categorized as "dangerous."
Firefighters in Indonesia were battling several peatland fires in several locations on Sumatra island on Wednesday, officials said.
The fires started Tuesday afternoon near residential areas and along a highway in three villages. The firefighters were hampered because water sources were far away and several reservoirs were dry.
Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strains relations with neighboring countries. Smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand with a noxious haze.
Margaret Delaney nola.com Sat, 02 Sep 2023 11:47 UTC
As statewide fires continue to burn, video footage of Sabine Parish's wildfires show a rare weather phenom: a firenado.
The combination of hot air from a wildfire and wind gusts traveling in different directions can cause a mix between a fire and a tornado, according to AccuWeather.
The footage was taken amidst Northwest Louisiana wildfires on Aug. 25.
The death toll in the forest fire raging in the southern Peruvian department of Apurimac has risen to five following the discovery of two new bodies, according to the latest official toll.
The head of the Social Health Insurance (EsSalud) network in Aymaraes province, Augusto Maldonado, told national media that the bodies found by rescue units correspond to a villager identified as Juan Romero Ayquipa, 22, and Daniel Coicca Benítez, 63.
Maldonado added that five of the six injured who were hospitalized in the Chalhuanca emergency hospital have already been discharged. One remains hospitalized with minor burns, but with a favorable prognosis.
I do believe that there will be a clash between East and West. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think that it will be based upon the color of the skin.
Comment: In adjacent country: At least 18 new deaths reported in Greece wildfires