Wildfires
S


Extinguisher

Canada: Forest Fires Rage, Up to 7000 Likely to be Evacuated


netnewsledger
Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:05 UTC
Image
© (Mitch Miller/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources/The Canadian Press
The fire situation across Northwestern Ontario remains severe. There were twenty new fires reported since yesterday. Across the province the current scope of the area covered by fires is 300,000 hectares. This is a major increase in the scope of fires and sets a new record. Evacuations of communities in the North continue. It is expected that up to 7000 people will be evacuated out of their home communities. There will be people sent, mostly through Thunder Bay to London, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Wawa, Greenstone and other communities with hundreds also expected to stay in Thunder Bay.

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo and AFN Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse support the calls for immediate mobilization of resources by all levels of government for the safe evacuation of First Nation communities impacted by forest fires in northwestern Ontario, adding that capacity needs at the community level must be addressed to deal with immediate and long-term emergency response needs.

"The safety and security of First Nation citizens and communities is of primary concern and our thoughts and prayers are with the many people affected by the devastating fires in northwestern Ontario, particularly in Nishnawbe Aski territory," said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo speaking today from Vancouver, where he's meeting with provincial and territorial leaders at a meeting of the Council of the Federation.
Read More...
Phoenix

Canada: Northwestern Ontario wildfires set to spread


CBC News
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:01 UTC
Image
© Mitch Miller/Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources/Canadian PressA forest fire burns Friday about 270 kilometres north-northeast of Sioux Lookout, Ont.
Smoke forces people out of several First Nation communities.

Fire crews in northwestern Ontario are scrambling to contain nearly 100 forest fires amid warnings that dozens of new fires could break out in the days ahead.

Mitch Miller, a fire information officer with the Ministry of Natural Resources, said from Dryden that there are 96 active fires burning in the remote northwestern region.

More than 30 new blazes are expected to break out in the coming days as the fires spread southward.

Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Israel: Fire rages in Jerusalem Forest, spreading toward oil refinery

Nir Hasson
Haaretz
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:27 UTC
Image
© Nir HassonA firefighting plane over the Jerusalem Forest, July 17, 2011
Firefighters are battling a large fire that broke out Sunday in the Jerusalem Forest and Mount Herzl area in the west of the city. The fire is approaching the Har Nof, Bayit Vagan neighborhoods and the Pi Glilot oil refinery.

Rescue teams have evacuated the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial nearby. One worker suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital.

The Fire Department spokesman said on Channel 10 that "large teams of firefighters have been deployed in the entire area, and curious onlookers should clear out. Firefighting planes are flying above us in an attempt to put out the fire."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

Idaho, US: Lightning Sparks Off Wildfires Across Valley

Justin Corr
KVTB
Sat, 16 Jul 2011 13:28 UTC
Image
© KVTB
Firefighters say lightning is likely responsible for three grass fires early Saturday morning in the Boise area.

Crews responded to a fire off Highway 55 by the Shadow Valley Golf Course, a small grass fire near Broadway and Myrtle and a large fire near Gowen and Orchard.

It made for a busy morning for fire crews, which turned into a busy afternoon as crews continued to fight the fire off Highway 55.

Firefighters said it's just unfortunately that time of year when weather, heat, and fuels combine to create a demand on their resources.

"Last night was very busy when that lightning storm rolled in," said David Cooper, the Boise Fire Battalion Chief. "We had multiple grass fires going on."
Read More...
Phoenix

Firefighters battle 26 wildfires in Russian Far East


RIA Novosti
Sun, 17 Jul 2011 07:12 UTC
Image
© RIA Novosti. Alexander KryazhevFirefighters battle 26 wildfires in Russian Far East
Firefighters have extinguished ten wildfires in the Russian Far East in the past twenty-four hours and are still battling 26 forest fires in the area, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said on Sunday.

"Satellite monitoring and aircraft surveillance have registered a total of 36 forest fires in the Far East on an area of over 5,700 hectares. Ten fires have been extinguished over the past twenty-four hours on an area of 228 hectares. Firefighters are currently battling 26 forest and tundra fires on an area of over 5,500 hectares," the ministry said.
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: New Mexico Rains Douse Flames But Fuel Flood Fears

Dennis J. Carroll
Reuters
Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:59 UTC
The monsoons arrived on schedule in northern New Mexico on Monday, bringing with them the promise of containing a monster wildfire that has broken records in the state.

But they also brought potential peril from flash floods, wind bursts and lightning, with possible flooding made worse by the ground-clearing fires.

"It's such a Catch-22 with the rains," said Arlene Perea, a fire information officer. "The rains are welcome, but we know there are some problems with it."

The National Weather Service on Monday put out a flash-flood watch for the fire area through at least Wednesday. Forecasters said showers and thunderstorms were expected, with hail, lightning and winds up to 45 miles per hour.
Read More...
Phoenix

Political Bread and Circuses for the Masses While the World is Burning: Russia's Summer of Fire, Intrigue, Political Mystery

Jeffrey Tayler
Bloomberg
Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:01 UTC
Is lightning striking twice in the same place? Kommersant has sounded the tocsin, warning that once again peat bogs around Moscow are burning: "According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, on Sunday in the region around Moscow sixteen wildfires broke out simultaneously."

Authorities said that the fires have been extinguished, but Kommersant quoted Grigory Kuksin, of Greenpeace Russia, who refuted the good news. "In the Gus-Khrustalny district alone, five fires are burning," Kuksin said. "The situation in the region is bad. There aren't enough resources to put out fires or even contain them."

The bogs currently ablaze may prefigure a return of the catastrophic wildfires that last summer coincided with a record-shattering heat wave and raged for weeks, generating lethal smog that blanketed the capital, wrought billions of dollars worth of damage and, at least indirectly, caused tens of thousands of deaths.

Disaster may well hit again. Zhivoy Zhurnal published a photo of a grim poster of unknown provenance that has mysteriously been turning up in the capital's elevators. The poster states: "In accordance with predictions of an emergency in 2011, the threat of wildfires in the Moscow region continues."
Read More...
Cloud Lightning

US: 'One Thing After Another': Floods Threaten Blaze-Ravaged New Mexico


MSNBC
Tue, 05 Jul 2011 02:01 UTC
The Las Conchas fire
© Roberto Rosales / Albuquerque Journal via AP The Las Conchas fire near the town of Los Alamos, N.M. is still smoldering in the distance on Monday afternoon, July 4.
Santa Fe, New Mexico - As firefighters made progress saving Indian pueblo lands on the north end of New Mexico's largest wildfire, officials worried on Monday about a possible second punch from Mother Nature - flash floods.

The fast-burning Las Conchas fire exploded on the scene a week ago, triggering the temporary evacuation of the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory. It has since charred more than 123,500 acres, the biggest torching of the state's lands in history.

But forecasters say seasonal rains are finally showing up across the tinder-dry Southwest, moving toward New Mexico.

"We've gone straight from fire danger to flood danger, so it's one thing after another," said a frustrated Jason Lott, superintendent of the Bandelier National Monument, a revered ancestral home of New Mexico's pueblo Indian natives.
Read More...
Bell

US: Crews Gain Fighting New Mexico Wildfire, Now Fear Floods

Dennis J. Carroll
Reuters
Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© ReutersCharred forest smolders from the Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos, New Mexico.
Santa Fe - As firefighters made progress saving Indian pueblo lands on the north end of New Mexico's largest wildfire, officials worried on Monday about a possible second punch from Mother Nature -- flash floods.

The fast-burning Las Conchas fire exploded on the scene a week ago, triggering the temporary evacuation of the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory. It has since charred more than 123,500 acres, the biggest torching of the state's lands in history.

But forecasters say seasonal rains are finally showing up across the tinder-dry Southwest, moving toward New Mexico.

"We've gone straight from fire danger to flood danger, so it's one thing after another," said a frustrated Jason Lott, superintendent of the Bandelier National Monument, a revered ancestral home of New Mexico's pueblo Indian natives.

Lott said more than 50 percent of the park, which consists of a total of 33,750 acres, has already been scorched by the Las Conchas blaze, although the visitors center, historic lodge and the ancient Tyounyi Pueblo ruins have been spared.

Those same structures, however, may now be threatened by flash floods expected with the state's monsoon season.

"It could be tomorrow, or in a couple weeks," Lott said.
Read More...
Extinguisher

Los Alamos Fire: More Firefighters Deploy in New Mexico, US


BBC
Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:07 UTC
Image
© BBC
Officials from the Los Alamos National Laboratory say dangerous materials are safely stored

Hundreds more firefighters have been deployed to battle a wildfire near a top US nuclear weapons research lab in New Mexico amid concerns the blaze could reach radioactive waste.

Nearby residents have expressed concern about potential contamination if flames reach barrels stored outside.

But officials are confident the fire will not reach the drums and they say dangerous materials are safely stored.

The town outside Los Alamos National Laboratory was evacuated on Monday.

The laboratory has been closed since then and is not expected to open until Friday at the earliest, officials said.

The Las Conchas fire has now burned 110 sq miles (284.9 sq km), fuelled by dry timber and powered by strong winds. Smoke from the blaze can be seen as far away as Albuquerque 60 miles (100km) away.
Read More...