Wildfires
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British Columbia wildfires by the numbers: Over 650,000 hectares burned

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The sun has risen on another summer day in British Columbia where thousands of hard-working personnel are combining their efforts to get the province's ongoing wildfire situation under control.

Since April 1, there have been 1,451 wildfires in BC that have burned just over 650,000 hectares of land.


Currently, there are 260 active wildfires and here's how they break down by region:

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"Like a horror movie:" Greece wildfires continue to force thousands of evacuations

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The burning of wildfires in Greece was like living in a horror movie, one resident said as she was evacuated from the Greek island of Evia by ferry on Sunday.

Thousands of people have fled their homes on Evia as wildfires burned uncontrolled for a sixth day, and ferries were on standby for more evacuations after taking many to safety by sea.

Fires that had threatened the northern suburbs of Athens in recent days died back. But the blaze on Evia, a large island north-east of the capital, quickly burgeoned into several fronts, ripping through thousands of hectares of pristine forest across its northern part, and forcing the evacuation of dozens of villages.


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Dixie fire becomes the second-largest wildfire in California history

Devastation of the Dixie Fire in Pumas County
© Zac Slotemaker/KRNVDevastation of the Dixie Fire in Pumas County
The Dixie fire, now the second-largest blaze in state history, has burned more than 463,000 acres and destroyed more than 400 buildings.


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Seven dead as wildfires sweep across Algeria

Some fires erupted near houses, forcing inhabitants to flee [Screengrab/ Social media]
Some fires erupted near houses, forcing inhabitants to flee [Screengrab/ Social media]
Algeria is the latest Mediterranean country to be hit by wildfires, after blazes hit Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

Wildfires fanned by blistering temperatures and tinder-dry conditions have killed at least seven people in Algeria, the interior minister said Tuesday, adding the fires had criminal origins.

Photographs posted on social media show huge walls of flame and billowing clouds of smoke towering over villages in the forested hills of the Kabylie region, east of the capital Algiers.


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Siberian wildfire smoke reaches North Pole in historic first

Satellite images captured “only a small part” of the smoke stretching 3,200 kilometers east to west and 4,000 kilometers north to south
© MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFCSatellite images captured “only a small part” of the smoke stretching 3,200 kilometers east to west and 4,000 kilometers north to south.
Smoke from wildfires burning across Russia's largest and coldest region has reached the North Pole for what is believed to be the first time in known history last week, according to satellite observations.

The European Union's Copernicus satellite monitoring service has said that the forest fires in the Siberian republic of Sakha (Yakutia) — fueled by hot weather and a 150-year record drought — have already emitted a record 505 megatons of carbon dioxide with several weeks remaining in the fire season.

"This week, wildfire smoke has traveled more than 3,000 km (1,864 mi) from Yakutia to reach the North Pole, a feat that appears to be a first in recorded history," NASA's Earth-monitoring tool MODIS said Saturday.

The thick smoke had blanketed vast swathes of Siberia before reaching the North Pole, sparking evacuations, concerns over deteriorating air quality and orders to clear fire trails of dead wood and fallen trees around endangered settlements.

Smoke has been detected in 1,300 towns and settlements in the Krasnoyarsk region west of Sakha alone, emergency officials said Saturday.


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Italy wildfire: 400 people flee raging 'dramatic' blaze as fireball engulfs skyline

More than 400 people have been evacuated
More than 400 people have been evacuated
Hundreds of tourists and residents have been evacuated as wildfires continue to rage in Italy.

More than 400 people have fled from their homes, hotels, and campsites in the seaside district on the Adriatic coast on Sunday, according to fire crews.

Clips of the flames approaching a cafe on social media show thick plumes of smoke billowing through the streets.

A helicopter and firefighting plane have been deployed to aid crews working to douse flames raging on the ground.

The fire is bringing down houses and blocked traffic on state road 16.

Ten hectares of pine forest in Vesuvius Park have gone up in smoke.


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SOTT Focus: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - July 2021: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs

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China's monsoon season has been catastrophic so far, unprecedented heavy floods have taken a heavy toll. The southwest and central regions in the Yangtze river basin witnessed the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years, and the water continues to pour down with no rest.

Across Henan, rains deluged 1,700 large-scale farms, killing more than a million animals, and whose many small farmers still play a major role in meat production. The floods also caused a major explosion in an aluminum alloy unit in central Henan.

At least 14 people lost their lives in Zhengzhou city when their subway train flooded. More than 500 people were trapped in the subway in one of the worst-affected areas of the city.

China's biggest river, the Yangtze, and several of its tributaries have risen to dangerous levels after days of heavy rain, forcing evacuations of thousands of people and triggering an unprecedented emergency response alert.

A very serious double earthen dam failure sent 46 million cubic meters of water to the Hulunbuir area of Inner Mongolia, causing massive flooding.

The Three Gorges Dam has successfully contained the heavy floods, sighing relief to Chinese authorities, as a collapse could have had an even more catastrophic impact on the area.

Severe flooding caused by historic rainfall wreaked havoc across western Europe taking the lives of 189 people. Tens of thousands were unable to return to their homes and were left without access to power and drinking water. Towns in river valleys and low-lying plains in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Austria were heavily damaged. Most of the affected areas had not experienced that much rainfall in 100 years.

Drought and extreme heat triggered the two largest wildfires in the Western US. The fires have burned land nearly the size of New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago combined.

The Dixie Fire in California scorched 241,000 acres has destroyed more than 60 houses. The widespread fires have forced the evacuation of more than 7,800 residents.

The Bootleg Fire is still raging in southern Oregon, burning 413,000 acres since igniting this month. The fire has torn through more than 400 houses.

Greek firefighters faced dangerous and unprecedented conditions as they battled 154 wildfires through Athens, with one of them threatening Mount Parnitha national park — one of the last remaining substantial forests near the city. Meanwhile, in Turkey, eight people died in the country's worst blaze in decades that raged through swaths of the southern coast.

Hot weather and strong winds fueled multiple wildlife fires in Akkar, Lebanon, consuming the iconic Lebanese pine forests. The flames forced thousands to evacuate.

And on the southern hemisphere, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay reported rare snowstorms and surprisingly cold temperatures this winter.

A magnitude-8.2 earthquake rattled Chignik, Alaska this month, it has been recorded as the most powerful U.S. earthquake in half a century. Several Alaskan coastal communities were evacuated following the quake, but no major damage was reported due to the remote location and depth of the epicenter.

Have you noticed that more and more people, cattle, buildings, and trees are getting struck by lightning? Things are charging up in higher layers of the atmosphere. Keep your eyes open, and prepare accordingly!

All this and more in our SOTT Earth Changes Summary for July 2021:


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Dixie Fire becomes largest single wildfire in California history

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© AFP
The Dixie Fire burning in two Northern California counties is now the largest single wildfire in recorded state history, exploding in size overnight as drought-stricken lands continue to fuel the flames.

The fire, which has burned for 23 days and forced mass evacuations, razed the Gold Rush town of Greenville on Thursday, destroying 91 buildings and damaging five others. Smoke from the blaze has blown to lower parts of Northern California, including the state capital of Sacramento where the air quality index on Friday reached "unhealthy" levels.


Comment: Thousands evacuate fast-moving California wildfire, homes burn


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Greece fires: Thousands more flee to safety as wildfires continue to rage

People watch the wildfire next to a highway in Afidnes area, northern Athens
© APPeople watch the wildfire next to a highway in Afidnes area, northern Athens
Thousands of residents have fled to safety from a wildfire that burned for a fourth day north of Athens as firefighters tried to stop the flames reaching populated areas, power stations and historic sites.

On the nearby island of Evia, the coast guard mounted a massive operation with patrol boats and private vessels to evacuate hundreds of people by sea.

With a protracted heatwave scorching the country, the blaze tore through forest areas 12.5 miles north of the capital, destroying more homes.


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Thousands evacuate fast-moving California wildfire, homes burn

A home is consumed by flames in the River Fire,
© REUTERS/Fred GreavesA home is consumed by flames in the River Fire, a wildfire burning in Grass Valley, California, U.S., August 4, 2021.
A rapidly spreading wildfire burned homes and forced thousands to evacuate in two heavily wooded counties northeast of Sacramento in Northern California on Wednesday, generating a towering plume of smoke visible from at least 70 miles (110 km) away.

The so-called River Fire scorched 1,400 acres (566 hectares) in Placer and Nevada counties, with 1,000 acres burnt within the first two hours, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said.

The River Fire was less than 100 miles (160 km) south of the enduring Dixie Fire, which according to Cal Fire has consumed 278,000 acres and was only 35% contained three weeks after it started.

Social media images showed the Dixie Fire on Wednesday had destroyed multiple structures in one section of Greenville, a town of about 800 people in Plumas County.