© Reuters
A firefighter puts out a blaze during a week-long wildfire on New Zealand’s South Island.
A massive bushfire has churned through more than 5,600 acres on New Zealand's South Island in what is believed to be
the country's worst forest fire since 1955, BBC reports.
A state of emergency was declared on Feb. 6, two days after the Pigeon Valley Fire began near the city of Nelson. As of Monday, the blaze was
still scorching the island's arid countryside, but as firefighting conditions improved, around 3,000 evacuated residents were allowed to return home.
Local MP Nick Smith described the region as a "tinderbox" and said 70,000 residents in the fire's range remain "on edge."
Twenty-three
helicopters and two planes have reportedly been deployed to combat the blaze in the nation's
largest aerial firefight on record, according to the New Zealand
Herald.
Fire chiefs have
warned that the flames could continue until March.
The bushfire follows a heatwave that saw some areas of New Zealand sweating out 90°F days last month. The New Zealand Drought Index reports "extremely dry"
conditions in the Nelson area, which has reportedly been parched since November 2018.
Comment: Whatever the cause, a wildfire in February in Yorkshire is certainly unusual. It could be related to the record heat much of the UK has seen in recent days: UK: Hottest February day ever as temperatures soar to 20C/68F
It's also notable that the summer drought and heatwave of 2018 brought about an unprecedented number of wildfires to the UK: Wildfire the size of 50 football pitches breaks out in "tinder dry" New Forest, UK
And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?