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© RIA Novosti/ Yaakov AndreevForest fire. Archive.
"Out of 25 forest fires, 15 have been put out, seven are active in the Republic of Sakha [Yakutia], with one of them contained, and three others have been contained in the Khabarovsk Territory," the department said in a statement.
Over the past day, fire covered some 936 hectares in the region. As of Friday morning, the figure was nearly 13,000 hectares.
© AFP Photo / Joe Klamar
At least 15 workers at Crisalida Farms in Oxnard, California, found themselves struggling to breathe last week as the Camarillo Springs wildfire blackened the sky with smoke and ash. The blaze damaged more than a dozen houses, threatened 4,000 homes, and burned a store of highly toxic pesticides that caught fire at an agricultural property.
Located just 11 miles south of the fire, workers at the Southern California strawberry farm had a difficult time breathing as they laboriously worked in the fields. Their boss had warned them that taking a break would compromise their jobs, and they were faced with a dilemma.
"The ashes were falling on top of us," one of the workers told NBC LA. "[But] they told us if we leave, there would be no job to return to."
© AFPHundreds of residents have been forced to leave their homes as strong winds fan the flames of the wildfires
The start of May has been a strange one for the USA. It seems that nature can't decide if it's winter or summer.
Heavy rain has flooded parts of Key West in southern Florida. Two days of torrential downpours have led to flooding and in the last 24 hours, 109mm more rain fell across the island.
The rain has flooded homes and businesses and forced the closure of a number of roads.
Whilst rain is the problem in Florida, elsewhere winter is still winning. Heavy snow has smothered parts of the Plains and the Midwest.
Some of the worst weather was in the state of Minnesota, where the snow set new records.
© Screenshot, WorldConflictReport @YouTubeThe screenshot shows the so-called Springs fire burning in Ventura County.
The blaze erupted at about 6:30 a.m. local time (9:30 a.m. EDT) Thursday off the Southbound 101 freeway, threatening hundreds of homes in Newbury Park and Camarillo, the LA Times reported. The flames had consumed 10,000 acres of brush and was 10 percent contained as of early Friday morning, NBC News reported, and had reached within "seven or eight miles" of the city of Malibu.
The so-called Springs fire caused the shutdown of a 9-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway and the evacuation of hundreds of Ventura County residents as it crept toward the coast.
Very low humidity and balmy spring temperatures, combined with the dry brush and the blustering Santa Ana winds, created the perfect conditions for the wildfire, which is unusual for this time of year.
Firefighters were able to beat back a powerful wildfire that bore down on a dry Southern California city, limiting the damages to a single house and curbing the threat to hundreds more. But the difficult conditions that helped fuel the 4 1/2 square-mile blaze in Riverside County on Wednesday could be even worse in parts of the state Thursday.
"Today was a transition day," state fire spokesman Julie Hutchinson said. "Tomorrow is the big wind day" Winds of 20-30 mph are expected, along with nearly non-existent humidity and an abundance of wildfire fuel. "The grass, brush and trees are very volatile. They're ready to burn," Hutchinson said. "Everything is just very dry. And not just in Southern California, statewide."
Forecasters said high pressure would send strong winds through Southern California's passes and canyons and near coastal foothills Thursday.
"Today was a transition day," state fire spokesman Julie Hutchinson said. "Tomorrow is the big wind day" Winds of 20-30 mph are expected, along with nearly non-existent humidity and an abundance of wildfire fuel. "The grass, brush and trees are very volatile. They're ready to burn," Hutchinson said. "Everything is just very dry. And not just in Southern California, statewide."
Forecasters said high pressure would send strong winds through Southern California's passes and canyons and near coastal foothills Thursday.
© CURT HABRAKEN/APFirefighters set a boundary as cabins burn on Black Bear Cub Way in Sevier County, Tenn., on Sunday. As of 8 p.m., there were 32 cabins reported burned with 40 more in danger.
The 145-acre fire was first reported around 5 p.m. EDT Sunday in Sevier County, said Ben Bryson, a fire resources coordinator with the Tennessee Division of Forestry. Smoke was reported to be visible from 25 miles away.
Bryson said early Monday that the fire was contained and not expected to spread.
Some of the cabins were occupied and about 150 to 200 people were evacuated, but no injuries were reported, Bryson said.
After dawn Monday, two Tennessee Air National Guard helicopters took off from nearby McGhee Tyson Airport. A state Forestry Division spokesman said the helicopters would be used to scoop up water from Douglas Lake and drop it on the fire.
© ABC NewsA California wildfire continues to blaze, having burned around 150 acres in and around Rancho Jurupa Regional Park, a county Fire spokeswoman said.
Firefighters continued to work on hotspots, and a firefighting helicopter was on standby, said Greg Birchfield, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in Riverside County.
Containment was estimated at 60 percent. Firefighters expect to have the fire fully contained by 8 p.m. Saturday. Afternoon conditions included northeast winds at 10-15 mph with gusts to 20-25 mph with temperatures in the low 80s and relative humidity at just 5 percent.
No injuries were reported, Birchfield said.
© AP Photo/New South Wales Rural Fire ServiceIn this photo provided by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, plumes of smoke rise from a fire near Cooma, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013. Temperatures across much of New South Wales state are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) causing extreme conditions.
Temperatures soared to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
No deaths have been reported, although officials in Tasmania were still trying to find about 100 people who have been missing since last week when a fire tore through the small town of Dunalley, east of the state capital of Hobart, destroying around 90 homes. On Tuesday, police found no bodies during preliminary checks of the ruined houses.
"You don't get conditions worse than this," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said. "We are at the catastrophic level and clearly in those areas leaving early is your safest option."
Catastrophic threat level is the most severe rating.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. The combination of soaring temperatures and dry, windy conditions since Friday have sparked fires that burned 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of forests and farmland across southern Tasmania.
© ABC News / Damian McIverA police road block at Forcett cuts access to the Tasman Peninsula this morning
The threat for the state's most destructive fires has been downgraded, but residents are being warned to remain vigilant.
More than 100 properties have been destroyed since the bushfires broke out in extreme heat on Friday, and police have warned that bodies may be found as teams go door-to-door in the devastated communities.
