Wildfires
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Phoenix

Wildfire warning issued for Alaska - apparently freeze-dried vegetation can 'spontaneously combust'

State officials issued a rare winter wildfire advisory for the Mat-Su area Thursday, cautioning against open burning at a time of sunny skies and dry conditions.

Warm weather in recent weeks has melted much of the snowpack in the area. From the north Knik River Bridge, open fields are exposed across Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge and in areas around Palmer and Wasilla.
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© wikipediaMatanuska-Susitna (Mat-Su) Valley shown shaded in red north of Anchorage, Alaska
"Attention residents -- the Mat-Su Valley is dry," begins a public service announcement released by the state Division of Forestry.

Cooler temperatures can lead to a freeze-dried effect in grassy fields, said Norm McDonald, a state fire management officer.

Phoenix

Winter wildfire strikes Tuscon, Arizona

Coronado National Forest crews are mopping up a wildfire that began Thursday afternoon on Mt. Lemmon.
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© Unknown
The Little Bear Fire began around Noon near mile post 11 off of Catalina Highway, according to Mt. Lemmon Fire Chief Randy Ogden.

Phoenix

Four hundred evacuated as third Norwegian wildfire blamed on 'faulty power lines and freeze-dried vegetation'

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© Joakim Halvorsen / NTB ScanpixThe ruins in Hasvåg, Flatanger municipality, after the fire
A new fire has broken out on the coast near Trondheim, after tinder-dry heather was again lit by sparks from power lines.

The new fire, on the island of Frøya in South Trøndelag county, broke out hundreds of kilometres south of Flatanger municipality, where firemen have been fighting blazes around two historic villages since Monday night.

"Police are now evacuating people in the Sandvika area," the county police said in a press statement issued at 3pm. "The fire is not under control, and efforts to extinguish it are still continuing. In addition to the fire crews on the ground, there are five helicopters in the area to assist putting out the fire. Many of these have come directly from the operation at Flatanger."

According to VG newspaper, 300 people have already been evacuated as police fear the fire could envelop the main village on the island.

The mayor of Flatanger said at a press conference at 1pm that firefighters had finally put out the fire that ravaged two historic coastal villages in his community throughout Tuesday.

"We have very positive news in that it looks as if the fire is extinguished," Mayor Olav Jørgen Bjørkås said as he opened the press conference.

The fire destroyed about 90 buildings in the coastal villages of Hasvåg and Småværet, and forced the evacuation of 33 residents from the area.

Northern Norway has seen an unusually dry period, with no rain since December, which, combined with the intense cold, has had the effect of freeze-drying the vegetation, making it extremely vulnerable to fire.

On Wednesday, Norwegian authorities started warning people against lighting fires outside, or even leaving candles at the graves of relatives.

Comment: See also: Third 'winter wildfire' breaks out in Norway - Second in two days - What is going ON?!


Phoenix

Despite Arctic temperatures, wildfire torches remote building in Woodbury County, Iowa

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Windy weather helped fuel the flames of a wildfire late Wednesday afternoon.

Crews throughout Woodbury County helped put it out.

The fire broke out a few miles north of Correctionville, Iowa around three.

A section of grass caught on fire.. but the flames quickly spread to a house and a Morton building.

"The house was vacant, nobody lived here since 1989. The owner of the property who lives just a little ways away saw the smoke and was the one that initially called it in," says Jeff Hill, Correctionville Fire Chief.

Attention

Huge wildfires across Scottish Highlands

hill fire Fort William
© Sarah JohnsonMonday night's hill fire near Fort William stretched for several miles in the area above Banavie
A helicopter has been deployed and fire crews remain on standby to guard properties as wildfires continue to burn across the Scottish Highlands.

Crews are holding a watching brief over a significant fire in the hills north of Gairloch, on the north-west coast, to ensure no properties are at risk.

A helicopter was sent to a significant fire in Kishorn, just north of Skye.

Phoenix

Tennessee firefighters baffled by outbreak of large wildfires in mid-Winter

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© WBIR
Heavy smoke took over parts of Pigeon Forge after a brush fire broke out near Dollywood on Sunday afternoon.

The wildfire threatened 11 cabins and four people were told to shelter in place because it was too risky for them to leave.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, crews had the fire 80% contained and hoped to have it completely contained by the end of the night.

The Pigeon Forge Fire Department said the fire is located near Upper Middle Creek Road off of Walker Trail.

Crews first got the call around 2 p.m. and all other agencies in the county were called in around 2:15 p.m. to assist.

About 90 firefighters responded to the fire throughout the day. At least 10 firefighters will monitor hot spots throughout the night.


Phoenix

Third 'winter wildfire' breaks out in Norway - Second in two days - What is going ON?!

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© Atle ThomassenThis third winter wildfire to hit Norway broke out at 11am Wednesday morning at Freya in Sør-Trøndelag, Norway.
Translated by SOTT.net

A heath fire broke out on Freya in Sør-Trøndelag at 11am Wednesday morning. The wind is blowing strongly in the area, making the fire spread quickly.

It is now threatening buildings in the area, local fire chief André Lind told Dagbladet.

The fire started at Hammar Lake, and spread with the north wind. It's now approaching Mestervik Lake.

"We had hoped that the water would prevent the fire from spreading further. But it is impossible to say if it will happen," said Lind.

A helicopter has joined efforts to put it out. Two Bell helicopters from the Norwegian military is on the way and should be there any minute. The helicopters are coming from Flatanger Rygge, having worked to extinguish the fire in Sørnes Peninsula.

Winds are currently blowing fresh air on Freya, but a gale warning has been issued for Wednesday and Thursday.

Read the rest of this article here.
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© SOTT.net

Extinguisher

Another wildfire in Norway: Fire on Norwegian coast destroys 140 buildings

Fire fighting
© Pierre GazzolaIllustration photo.
An out-of-control fire has swept across a peninsula in Flatanger, Norway, razing at least 140 buildings, in two villages, almost to the ground.

According to police, the fire started at around 10 p.m. on Monday night and was caused when sparks flew from power lines, jostled by the wind. The sparks caught the surrounding heather alight and with the strong wind, the flames swept almost instantly to the villages of Småværet and Hasvåg in northern Norway.

Johnny Olsen, spokesman for the local police told VG newspaper (in Norwegian), "It is very windy at the spot. The wind is blowing at 22 meters per second, which of course spreads the fire faster and makes it more difficult to put out."


Comment: According to other information, it is only speculation that the fire was caused by a spark from power lines.


Comment: There has been a lot of wildfires across the globe in recent times. Is it just due to faulty wiring or is it perhaps due to electrically charged micrometeorites?

Other wildfires in the news in January:

Fire devours historic Norwegian village, 90 people hospitalized
Many Tibetan monasteries and famous sites destroyed this winter by mysterious 'wildfires'
"Interesting situation, fighting fires in the wintertime" - Oregon firefighters finally get Shady Cove wildfire under control
'Winter wildfire' torches 70 acres in Union Country, South Carolina - where daytime temperature is currently 31F! - cause unknown
Winter wildfire weirdness continues as warnings spread to chilly Arkansas
Cross all that remains standing amid California wildfire that destroyed 1,700 acres
Winter wildfire destroys homes near Los Angeles
Small wildfires sweep across Southern California
Wildfire shuts down Interstate 80 in Nebraska
256 wildfires suddenly break out in Victoria, Australia amid heatwave
Perth, Western Australia: Wildfire razes 27 homes, one man dead
From polar vortex to wildfires in one week! Fires break out across Oklahoma
Chile authorities issue health alert after forest fire smoke blankets Santiago

And this article to add the context of the exponentially increasing meteors:
Take cover! Meteor fireballs rain down across U.S. - Outbreaks of wildfires reported


Phoenix

Many Tibetan monasteries and famous sites destroyed this winter by mysterious 'wildfires'

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Smoke billows from forest fire in Nyagchuka county, Tibet, Jan. 25, 2014. Yes folks, it's the middle of the Himalayan winter!
A forest fire burning out of control in western China's Sichuan province appears set to spread to a monastery and the main town of a Tibetan-populated county, following the near-total destruction of the center of another Tibetan town in a neighboring province two weeks ago, sources say.

The cause of the fire, which began on Jan. 25 in a hilly area of Nyagchukha (in Chinese, Yajiang) county in the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, is still unknown, a local source told RFA's Tibetan Service on Sunday.

"But the fire was still burning on Jan. 26," RFA's source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"If the fire is not brought under control soon, it may spread to the Nyagchukha county seat and to a small monastery located on the side of a mountain called Phagmo Hill," he said.

Nyagchukha, one of 11 counties under the jurisdiction of Kardze prefecture, is famous as the home of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a popular and well-respected Tibetan religious leader jailed by China since 2002 on bombing charges widely believed to have been contrived.

Question

"Interesting situation, fighting fires in the wintertime" - Oregon firefighters finally get Shady Cove wildfire under control

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Some snow remains on the ground and some creeks are still frozen, yet these fires burned right next to them?...
A wildfire that broke out Thursday in logging debris on private timberlands northeast of Shady Cove and grew to 125 acres was contained by fire crews over the weekend.

Oregon Department of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service firefighters have completed fire lines around most of the Alder Creek fire, ODF spokesman Brian Ballou said Monday. The fire started in piles of logging debris that were lighted in late November and early December, according to Grayback Forestry President Mike Wheelock, who also sent crews to help battle the blaze.

The fire about 15 miles up Elk Creek Road drew at least two 20-person hand crews, one bulldozer, seven engines and two water tenders. The blaze left some areas untouched, including spots where snow remained on the ground or creeks were still frozen.

"Interesting situation, fighting fires in the wintertime," Ballou said.

He added seeing a wildfire this early in the year is unusual.