Wildfires
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Fire

10,000 holidaymakers evacuated in south of France due to wildfires


ITV news
Mon, 27 Jul 2015 21:49 UTC
wildfires in south of France
© APTVSmoke can be seen rising from the fires
Up to 10,000 holidaymakers were evacuated from campsites in the south of France after wild fire ravaged nearby forests.

Firefighters and water planes were brought in to tackle the blazes which broke out near the town of Frejus, about 25 miles from Cannes.

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

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Fire

Fast-spreading wildfire closes entrance to Glacier National Park in Montana, prompts evacuations

Emmett Berg
Reuters
Wed, 22 Jul 2015 18:05 UTC
fire glacier national park montana
© Corey R. Lewis /CNN iReport
A fast-spreading wildfire forced the closure of an entrance to Glacier National Park in Montana and prompted the evacuation of two campgrounds and a motor inn inside the park at the height of the summer tourist season, officials said on Wednesday.

Shuttle bus drivers and others first spotted the so-called Reynolds Creek Wildland Fire on Tuesday just east of a popular hiking site, Logan Pass, park officials said in a statement. The blaze has since charred about 2,000 acres (809 hectares) in the park, officials said.

Park authorities shut down the St. Mary entrance at the eastern end of the park and about 20 miles (32 km) of roadway from that entrance to an area called Big Bend, said Katelyn Liming, a spokeswoman for the team fighting the blaze.

Some visitors who were on the road were forced to abandon their vehicles to escape the fast-moving blazes on Tuesday, and one vehicle was engulfed by flames, although no injuries have been reported, officials said.
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Uncontained brush fire in Washington state forces highway closure

Evan Bush
Seattle Times
Tue, 21 Jul 2015 13:10 UTC
vantage WA wildfire
© Washington State PatrolMore than 50 homes are under Level 3 evacuation, meaning the residents need to leave their homes, according to Trooper Darren Wright.
A brush fire near George, Grant County, closed Interstate 90 in both directions Monday afternoon and the freeway remained closed Tuesday morning, according to Trooper Darren Wright of the Washington State Patrol.

It's unknown when the freeway, which is closed from mileposts 138 to 155, will re-open.

The fire at one point threatened about 50 homes, but Wright said Monday night officials lifted an evacuation order despite the continuing blaze.

"I don't think we have actual control, but (firefighters are) making better progress," Wright said around 6:30 p.m.
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Best of the Web: Signs of Change: Extreme weather and environmental upheaval in June and July 2015 (VIDEO)

Hawkkey Davis
YouTube
Sun, 19 Jul 2015 16:20 UTC
Image
© HawkkeyDavisChannel/YouTubeA first? Wildfire torches moving vehicles on highway near Los Angeles, California
Video compilation of extreme weather events (and general environmental chaos) from the past month or so.

Record high temperatures in Germany were immediately followed by unusually strong storms and hail. Record rainfall in China was followed by a record heatwave there. In the US, there's been a record heatwave in the West, and record rainfall in the South. There's been record cold in Australia, and record heat in Pakistan. Volcanoes erupted in Indonesia, Japan and Mexico, while there was a strong earthquake in China and an earthquake swarm in Iceland... And in between all that; powerful storms and record rainfall.

Things be intensifying!

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Fire

'Volcano like' grass fire sweeps across hillfort near Aberystwyth, Wales

Tyler Mears
walesonline.co.uk
Sun, 19 Jul 2015 10:58 UTC
Firefighters were called to the ancient hillfort overlooking the West Wales town on Saturday night
Image
© walesononline.co.uk
A raging "volcano like" grass fire swept across an ancient hillfort overlooking Aberystwython Saturday night.

Mid and West Wales Fire Service attended the blaze at around 10pm and two crews tackled flames for three and a half hours.

Hoses and jets were used to tackle most of the fire but some areas were left to burn out on their own.

Further investigations

Pendinas is one of the largest and most important hillforts in West Wales, enclosing an area of 3.8 hectares.

It overlooks the sea between the Rivers Rheidol and Ystwyth.

Mid and West Wales Fire Service are still unsure as to the cause of the fire but will be returning to the scene today to carry out further investigations.

'Like a volcano'
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Fire

"Mass casualty incident" declared as 3,500-acre California brush fire sets cars ablaze, engulfing freeway and homes


RT
Fri, 17 Jul 2015 23:29 UTC
California brush fire
© Gene Blevins

A rapidly growing 3,500-acre brush fire near San Bernardino, California has blocked a freeway and set multiple cars on fire. Five homes have been burned and 50 are in danger, fire officials said.

The San Bernardino County Fire Department has declared a "mass casualty incident" and hundreds of firefighters have been dispatched to battle the blaze.


It's unclear how many may be injured, but the fire department stated that it is preparing to handle "multiple civilian burn victims."

A US Forest Service official told KLTA that two minor injuries have been reported.

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Fire

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

Robert Ferris
CNBC
Fri, 17 Jul 2015 20:15 UTC
Image
Wildfires: bigger, more frequent, and happening everywhere
Wildfire seasons all over the planet are lasting longer than they have in the past and burning wider swaths of land, and Earth's changing climate is to blame, according to a new report.

Ecologist and fire scientist Matt Jolly and his colleagues say the average duration of annual wildfire seasons lengthened almost 20 percent between 1979 and 2013, and the amount of land vulnerable to burning almost doubled. The team published its results in the journal Nature Communications this week.

The phenomenon isn't just happening in areas such as the Western United States. Wildfires are burning for a longer period of time on every continent except Australia and Antarctica, the report said. Forests and grasslands in Africa are burning more, and the fire season in South American tropical forests is more than a month longer than it used to be.

Fires are also getting worse across the Eastern U.S. coastal plain, and they increased the most in the Northern Rocky Mountain region.

Comment: Sott.net's prediction: the upward trend in strength and frequency of wildfires will continue to increase. Why?

Increased methane outgassing provides lethal fuel for the fires, while the trigger or spark is the increase in atmospheric electric discharge events (including lightning)...

Things sure be heating up!

See also:

Infographic Displays Increase in Major US Wildfires Since 2001

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Fire

Environment mirroring socio-economic chaos? Massive wildfire threatens Athens as Greece 'burns' under Austerity


Sky News
Fri, 17 Jul 2015 11:39 UTC
Image
© Alkis Konstantinidis / Reuters
Smoke billows over the Greek capital as a large fire burns on a mountain east of the city, forcing residents to flee their homes.

A huge blaze on the east side of Athens is spreading quickly due to high temperatures and strong winds.

Dozens of firefighters with ten vehicles are trying to tackle the fire, which sent thick smoke billowing into the Greek capital's sky.

Water-dropping helicopters were also dispatched at the scene.

The Reuters news agency said residents were forced to flee their homes, but so far nobody has been reported injured.

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Fire

Canadian wildfires out of control as super blaze hits Saskatchewan (VIDEO)


RT
Wed, 15 Jul 2015 06:13 UTC
wildfires in Canada
Screenshot from YouTube.com video by Viala Nasum
Wildfires in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan have nearly doubled, following the merger of two separate blazes. The fires have been raging for almost two weeks, which has left tens of thousands of hectares of forest burning.

The Lac La Ronge, in Saskatchewan was like a sea of flames following the intense blazes, while the sounds of the wildfires could be heard from some distance away.

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Fire

Tendril of wildfire smoke shows an incredible, twisty picture on satellite

Angela Fritz
Washington Post
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:50 UTC
Image
A view of two circulations in the upper level flow mixing with smoke from Canadian wildfires
The National Weather Service in Glasgow, Mont., shared this amazing satellite image of wildfire smoke that got caught in the upper-level winds over the northern U.S. and southern Canada today.

The tendril of smoke is highlighting two areas of spin in the winds — one just north of Montana and the other in western North Dakota — that we wouldn't be able to see on satellite if the air was clear. The smoke is so thick over these areas that it's actually casting a shadow on the ground.

On Friday, 31 significant wildfires were burning in Canada from British Columbia to Manitoba. Smoke from these large fires and dozens more in Alaska has been filtering down into the Lower 48 over the past month. Earlier this week, smoke had prompted air quality warnings in Minnesota and Colorado, and Minneapolis saw its worst air quality in over a decade.
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