Wildfires
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Phoenix

Fire devours historic Norwegian village, 90 people hospitalized


RT
Sun, 19 Jan 2014 17:50 UTC
A fire blasts over a house, destroying many of the famed 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses
© AFP Photo / NTB / Arne Veum NorwayA fire blasts over a house, destroying many of the famed 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses in the village Laerdal, southern Norway, on January 19, 2014.
Ninety people have been treated in hospital and 30 properties burnt to the ground in a massive fire in the western Norwegian village Laerdal, on Sognefjord fjord listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Scores of people have been evacuated from the heritage village of 1,150 as around 100 personal from the emergency services battle to put out the flames. Police also fear that gas canisters at a nearby industrial facility may explode and the area has been cordoned off.

The work of firefighters is being hampered by strong winds and police told Norwegian TV they were trying to bring in a helicopter to help contain the fire but that it was being delayed by media drones, which were operating in the area.
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Frog

Winter wildfire destroys homes near Los Angeles

Dan Whitcomb
The Chicago Tribune
Fri, 17 Jan 2014 00:42 UTC
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© Mario Anzuoni/ReutersA helicopter makes a water drop on the Colby Fire in Glendora, California
A fast-moving California wildfire, started accidentally by three campers, roared out of control in foothills above Los Angeles on Thursday, destroying five homes and forcing some 3,600 residents to flee, fire and law enforcement officials said.

The wind-whipped blaze began before dawn in the Angeles National Forest north of Glendora, about 40 miles east of downtown Los Angeles in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

By mid-morning, the so-called Colby Fire had blackened more than 1,700 acres of drought-parched brush and vegetation, Los Angeles County fire officials said. A thick pall of black smoke hung over eastern Los Angeles County, stretching west over the Pacific Ocean.

But as winds diminished and temperatures cooled later in the day some 700 firefighters, aided by eight fixed-wing aircraft and seven helicopters, were able to keep the flames from advancing any further.

Comment: Wildfires in winter? Right after 'polar vortexes'?! What's going ON with this weather?!

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Red Flag

Small wildfires sweep across Southern California


cbsnews.com
Thu, 16 Jan 2014 09:42 UTC
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© AP Photo/Coast Guard Station Rio Vista, Petty Officer Loumania Stewartn this image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a brush fire on Kimball Island in the San Joaquin River, Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014.
As Santa Ana winds made moisture plunge, plant life wither and wildfire danger soar, Southern California firefighters pounced on several small blazes before they could surge, though another day of dryness awaited.

The Santa Anas, generated by strong surface pressure anchored over the West, were predicted to remain at advisory levels until noon Wednesday. Red-flag warnings for fire danger were expected to remain in effect until Wednesday evening.

Tuesday's wildfires also struck an unusually arid and windy Northern California, where a fire on the small Kimball Island between San Francisco and Sacramento engulfed at least one of the island's 20 buildings and was threatening others, Solano County fire dispatcher Robyn Rains said.

CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports that firefighters say the latest round of fires in the state is the direct result of severe drought conditions throughout the West Coast that have extended fire season longer than normal.

"The lack of rain and the unseasonably dry conditions just makes fire conditions just as bad as in the middle of fire season," said Scott Bahrenfuss of the Rio Vista Fire Department.

The U.S. Coast Guard was helping with evacuations, and Delta Fire Protection District crews had difficulty getting to the blaze because the site is was only accessible by boat.
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Attention

Wildfire shuts down Interstate 80 in Nebraska


Journal Star
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:54 UTC
Image
High winds Tuesday pushed a wildfire onto Interstate 80 in central Nebraska and toppled a tractor trailer in western Iowa, tying up interstate traffic in both cases.

Meanwhile, forecasters said to be prepared for "even stronger winds," issuing a high wind watch for Thursday.

The wildfire, whipped by 30 mph winds, closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Aurora for about one hour.

Area firefighters fought the large grass fire, which started on the north side of the interstate near Hampton at about 2:40 p.m., according to the Nebraska State Patrol office in Grand Island.

Westbound lanes of the interstate were closed at the Hampton interchange and traffic was briefly detoured. Eastbound traffic continued to move slowly through the area.

The fire was brought under control and the westbound lanes were re-opened at about 3:40 p.m., a State Patrol dispatcher said.

Patrol Lt. Bill Keeling said the grass fire was big enough to obscure visibility in the westbound lanes of the interstate. He did not know what caused it.

Comment: See also: Take cover! Meteor fireballs rain down across U.S. - Outbreaks of wildfires reported

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Phoenix

256 wildfires suddenly break out in Victoria, Australia amid heatwave

Angus Thompson, James Dowling, Michelle Ainsworth
Herald Sun
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 16:52 UTC
fire ban sign
© Unknown
Crews have worked throughout the night extinguishing hundreds of fires in the driest parts of Victoria sparked by dry lightning from electrical storms.

CFA state duty officer Scott Purdy told 3AW radio crews responded to 256 fires between 5pm and 12am.

The Mallee and Wimmera received the most strikes as electrical storms hit the region and continued to other parts of the state including the central Victorian towns of Castlemaine, Daylesford, Woodend, Macedon, and metropolitan Melbourne.

There are still 22 fires burning in the Mallee. Waterbombing helicopters are monitoring the region and central Victoria to identify strikes before conditions worsen later in the week.

The CFA fears more dry lightning, which means lightning with not enough rain to combat its effect, will hit the state today.

The CFA battled several grass fires yesterday, with the most serious at Kangaroo Ground which is now under control.

There is a total fire ban across the state.

Comment: Dry lightning? Maybe. But then there's also this coming down from overhead:

Breaking News: NSW, Australia - Meteor spotted, 12 January 2014

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Extinguisher

Perth, Western Australia: Wildfire razes 27 homes, one man dead


globalpost.com
Mon, 13 Jan 2014 12:39 UTC
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© AP Photo/Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Evan CollisIn this image released by Department of Fire and Emergency Services, a wildfire burn trees and bushland along a roadside in Perth Hills in western Australia on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014.
A fast-moving wildfire destroyed at least 27 homes in western Australia's Perth, officials said Monday, with one man dying as he prepared for the approaching inferno.

The blaze, thought to have been started by a fallen power line in the city's wooded outskirts on Sunday, was fanned by hot, strong gusts that saw 20-metre (66-foot) flames tear through residential streets.

"It has been confirmed that 27 homes have been lost at this stage, but this number is expected to increase as damage assessments continue throughout the day," Western Australia state's fire and emergency services department said.

The ambulance service said a man, aged 62, had died after collapsing on the roof of his house as he prepared for the oncoming blaze.

"St John('s Ambulance) responded to the incident but was unable to access the roof," it said.

"Despite assistance from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in getting onto the roof, the man passed away at the scene."

Hundreds of residents fled their homes for evacuation centres and were anxiously awaiting news Monday. Some said they'd had only seconds to escape.
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Meteor

From polar vortex to wildfires in one week! Fires break out across Oklahoma

Priscilla Luong
Fox25
Sun, 12 Jan 2014 18:35 UTC
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© UnknownWildfire burns over 1200 acres in Logan County, OK
Several outbuildings were destroyed in a large wildfire that swept through Logan County Sunday afternoon.

Oklahoma's Wildland Task Force was deployed as local fire crews battled flames than spanned across an estimated 1,200 acres near County Road 73 and Post Road.

Guthrie Fire Chief, Eric Harlow says more than 20 agencies assisted in the effort to bring flames under control. Two dozen homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Harlow says strong winds caused hot spots from a Saturday fire in Logan County to flare up into a massive fire around noon Sunday.

Clouds of smoke could be seen from miles away, strong winds gusting more than 30 miles per hour swept the fire within five feet of Ralph Hanley's home.

"We came out here and all this here had been burned off," said Hanley, pointing to his backyard, "our neighbors had come over and fought the fire to keep it away from the house."

Comment: First fireballs, then an eruption of wildfires... Coincidence?

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Phoenix

Chile authorities issue health alert after forest fire smoke blankets Santiago


The Guardian
Thu, 09 Jan 2014 13:01 UTC
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© Claudio Reyes/AFP/Getty ImagesSmoke fills the air above Santiago as wildfires rage.
President announces measures to combat poor air quality and curb spread of diseases transmitted by rodents fleeing the fires

Smoke from dozens of nearby forest fires have blanketed the Chilean capital, leading authorities to issue a health alert.

The fast-spreading fires reached a peak over the weekend. They have caused more than $100m in property losses and forced the 7 million residents of Santiago to breathe the worst air in 15 years.

On Wednesday, strong winds carried a thick blanket of smoke over Santiago, where 40% of Chileans live. Firefighters have been struggling with the blazes as the wind has reignited several of them.

President Sebastian Piñera announced the health alert for four regions at a press conference late on Wednesday. Piñera said the more than 70 forest fires over the past weeks had affected more than 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of land.
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Attention

Best of the Web: Review of extreme weather and cosmic events on Earth in 2013 (VIDEO)

HawkkeyDavis Channel
YouTube
Tue, 07 Jan 2014 09:39 UTC
Image
Record heatwaves and wildfires, widespread and severe flooding, massive sinkholes swallowing buildings and people, mass animal deaths, an asteroid exploding over Russia, thousands more fireballs lighting up the sky throughout the year, record-breaking blizzards snowfall, the coldest northern spring in 100 years, massive landslides, 'rare' tornadoes occurring in places they shouldn't, the widest tornado ever observed, more volcanic eruptions, more major earthquakes forming new islands, the strongest tropical storm in recorded history, successive hurricanes in Europe, the coldest temperature ever recorded, snow in Cairo... these are signs of climate change, aka Earth Changes.

Welcome to the new normal.

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Extinguisher

California wildfire grows to 500 acres


Press TV
Tue, 17 Dec 2013 04:49 UTC
big sur wildfire
Big Sur fire burned at least 15 homes by Monday evening and forced dozens of others to evacuate.
A wildfire that broke out late Sunday night along the Big Sur coast, California, burned at least 15 homes by Monday evening and forced dozens of others to evacuate, fire officials said.

The 500-acre blaze, which started near Pfeiffer Ridge Road in the Los Padres National Forest, was fueled by strong winds and was not at all contained by nightfall Monday. But fire crews were hopeful that calmer conditions could help them make progress overnight.

"Right now, the winds have died down; they were really gusting overnight and this morning," said Los Padres National Forest spokesman Andrew Madsten on Monday afternoon. "Hopefully they will get some containment lines cut now."

Smoke could be seen as far away as Monterey Bay. No injuries have been reported, and fire officials said between 50 and 100 homes were evacuated by Monday evening. The Red Cross set up an evacuation center at the Big Sur Grange.
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