Wildfires
© AP Photos/Lisa Holshue
Flames from a prescribed burn that turned into a wildfire are visible from Highway 279 on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 near Canyon Creek, Mont. Forest spokeswoman Kathy Bushnell says the wind kicked up at about 1 p.m. driving the fire beyond the boundaries of the prescribed burn.
Flames from a prescribed burn that turned into a wildfire are visible from Highway 279 on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2010 near Canyon Creek, Mont. Forest spokeswoman Kathy Bushnell says the wind kicked up at about 1 p.m. driving the fire beyond the boundaries of the prescribed burn.
Cooler temperatures and calmer winds helped firefighters control wildfires that had flared up Thursday across eastern Washington in hot, gusty winds.
But in Montana, a cold front brought lightning and sparked seven fires on forest service and private land.
Ravalli County authorities began knocking on doors at 3 a.m. Friday, warning residents about three miles west of Hamilton that a fire in the Bitterroot National Forest was threatening their homes.
The Downing Mountain fire was reported at 8 p.m. Thursday and quickly grew to 50 to 100 acres.
More than 50 homes or structures in the Blodgett and Canyon Creek areas are threatened.
© Francisco Seco, AP
People fight a fire on the Peneda-Geres mountain near Pardela, northern Portugal.
People fight a fire on the Peneda-Geres mountain near Pardela, northern Portugal.
The regional government of Galicia, in the northwestern corner of Spain, says firefighters are working to control outbreaks in four areas of the province, including one "very large forest fire" in Negreira.
A fire in Barjas, in the neighbouring province of Leon, is being brought under control, mayor Alfredo de Arriba says.
Portugal's Civil Protection authority said on Sunday its forces had fought fires in 14 different areas and cooler conditions presented "a much more favourable scenario".
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry reported Monday that the wildfire-affected areas were reduced by some 8,000 hectares over the past 24 hours.
The number of fires decreased fourfold, the ministry was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.
Two NASA satellites registered a total of 371 hotspots in Russia on Sunday, according to the ScanEx website that received information from the satellites.
The number of fires decreased fourfold, the ministry was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying.
Two NASA satellites registered a total of 371 hotspots in Russia on Sunday, according to the ScanEx website that received information from the satellites.
© Reuters
Determined: A newly-married couple walks along Red Square amidst the heavy cloud of smog
Determined: A newly-married couple walks along Red Square amidst the heavy cloud of smog
The women, barely visible in their white dresses, went ahead with their nuptials, despite the shroud of smog that has descended on the country.
The eerie cloud, which has caused a fourfold increase in airborne pollutants, including carbon monoxide, is the result of forest fires which have killed 50 people nationwide.
Flights at international airports have been grounded and visibility in the capital is down to a few dozen yards as the fires continue to tear through forests and villages.
Russians wore protective face masks as dozens of forest and peat bog fires around the city continued to burn, fanned by south-easterly winds and the country's most intense heat wave in 130 years.
More than 500 separate blazes are active today, mainly across Russia's European territory, according to the Emergencies Ministry.
Emergency action reported to have 'stabilised' situation at Sarov, the closed town where first Soviet nuclear bomb was built
Russian troops dug a five-mile canal yesterday to protect a nuclear arms site from wildfires caused by a record heatwave.
The forest and peat fires have killed at least 52 people, made more than 4,000 homeless, diverted many flights and pushed air pollution in Moscow to six times its normal level, forcing some residents of the capital to wear surgical masks.
Russian troops dug a five-mile canal yesterday to protect a nuclear arms site from wildfires caused by a record heatwave.
The forest and peat fires have killed at least 52 people, made more than 4,000 homeless, diverted many flights and pushed air pollution in Moscow to six times its normal level, forcing some residents of the capital to wear surgical masks.
© Metzel/AP
Tourists wear protective face masks as they walk along the Red Square in thick smog, with Saint Basil's Cathedral partially visible in the back, in Moscow, Russia.
Tourists wear protective face masks as they walk along the Red Square in thick smog, with Saint Basil's Cathedral partially visible in the back, in Moscow, Russia.
290 new wildfires were reported in the last 24 hours, and weather forecasters said that Russia's heat wave would continue for several more days.
Meanwhile, pollutants in the Moscow smog have risen to dangerously unsafe levels. carbon monoxide levels are 6.6 times higher than acceptable, and tiny invisible particles from the fires are present in concentrations 2.2 times higher than normal levels, according to state air pollution monitoring service Mosekomonitoring.
© B.C. Wildfire Management Branch
"We don't anticipate any significant decrease in fire activity in the coming days," fire information officer Gwen Eamer said in an interview. "We expect to continue to pick up in the range of 50 fires every day."
Eamer said 183 new wildfires were reported during the B.C. Day long weekend. Since the beginning of the year, more than 760 square kilometres of land has been damaged or destroyed by fire.
Intense temperatures and the worst dry spell for generations continue to pound parts of Russia, with at least forty lives now claimed by wildfires. Hundreds have been injured. Seven of the hardest-hit regions are now in a state of emergency. One of them is the greater Moscow area. RT's Natalya Novikova gives us a picture from the center of the capital, which has been gripped by smog. While outside the city, Peter Oliver says the situation remains severe.
© Alex Aminev, Reuters
A security guard walks near grass, which was lit on fire by severe heat, at Khodynskoe pole aviation museum in Moscow July 29.
A security guard walks near grass, which was lit on fire by severe heat, at Khodynskoe pole aviation museum in Moscow July 29.
More than 200,000 acres have been engulfed in the past few days, fueled by strong winds and a severe drought. Moscow's temperature hit 100 degrees on Thursday, the highest since measurements began 130 years ago. The city today faces severe thunderstorms.
In reaction to the anger expressed by villagers around the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin canceled meetings in the capital and visited Verkhnava Vereva, some 300 miles east of Moscow.
Comment: Footage of the fires in Portugal from Russia Today: