A wildfire amid a record heat wave in western Canada has forced authorities to order residents to evacuate a village in British Columbia that smashed the country's record for hottest temperature three days in a row this week. Mayor Jan Polderman of Lytton issued the evacuation order Wednesday, saying on Twitter that the fire was threatening structures and the safety of residents of the community, which is 95 miles northeast of Vancouver.
"All residents are advised to leave the community and go to a safe location,″ Polderman said.
The province's wildfire service said it had responded to the blaze in Lytton and confirmed on Thursday that there were four general clusters of multiple wildfires across British Columbia.
"Ground crews, helicopters, air tankers, members from volunteer fire departments, and heavy equipment have responded and will continue to do so over the coming days," it said in a statement.
Before the scenes in Lytton, at least three major wildfires were burning in British Columbia, with 26 blazes having started between Tuesday and Wednesday alone.
There is speculation the fire was sparked by a CN train passing through the tinder-dry area:
CN Rail is "evaluating" the status of its train traffic through the bone-dry B.C. Interior after a fast-moving fire on Wednesday destroyed much of the Village of Lytton — a blaze thought to have been sparked by a passing train.
The fire in Lytton is believed to have began at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Based on accounts from those in the village at the time, it moved quickly. Some estimates on Thursday have said as much as 90 per cent of the village was burned.
Global BC is reporting investigators believe the fire was sparked by a passing train, citing sources at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
Castanet reached out to both major Canadian railways, each of which run through Lytton, for comment and asked whether any thought is being given to stopping trains until conditions in the Interior improve.
"Pertaining to the impact on our operation, we are evaluating this, but our focus now being the safety and support of the community," CN spokesman Mathieu Gaudreault said in a statement.
According to Gaudreault, CN finds the Lytton blaze "deeply distressing" and very concerning.
"We have reached out to local elected officials to offer our assistance," he said.
"We want to offer our support to the people of the First Nation of Lytton and we are committed in assisting this community during this tragic event."
A CP Rail spokesman said his railway was focusing on helping in any way it can in the aftermath of the Lytton fire.
"Our focus is on assisting emergency response operations in the town of Lytton," Andy Cummings told Castanet via email.
The notorious Road of Bones in Russia's Far East has been cut off by hellish wildfires as forests lining the famous and dangerous route burn in the summer heat. Approximately 40 kilometers of the highway are inaccessible.
Videos posted online show how the road is covered in flames, with smoke causing very limited visibility. Earlier in the week, local authorities revealed that they would artificially induce rain to fight against the wildfires. Around 69,000 hectares of wild land were reported to be ablaze.
Constructed during the Soviet era, the Road of Bones was built using forced Gulag labor, and its construction caused the deaths of thousands of prisoners. It is the only road connecting much of the region.
The section engulfed in flames is in Yakutia's Tattinsky district, a five-hour drive east from the region's capital Yakutsk.
As of Wednesday, more than half a million acres have burned across 11 states.
There were at least 50 large wildfires burning more than half a million acres across 11 states on Wednesday -- mostly in the West.
In Colorado, the Oil Spring and Sylvan fires in White River National Forest are the two biggest fires in the state. Firefighters are battling hot, dry and windy conditions.
Since the fire broke out on Monday, the Sylvan Fire has destroyed more than 3,000 acres in Eagle County, Colorado. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued in Eagle County on Tuesday evening.
In central California, a fast-moving brush fire, known as the Inyo Creek Fire, broke out on June 18 due to lightning from passing thunderstorms with mandatory evacuation orders issued in the area, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Two large rural Arizona fires have scorched more than 138,000 acres and forced thousands of residents from their homes.
Firefighters in the eastern part of the state are tackling the Telegraph Fire, which has burned 71,756 acres and the Mescal Fire that has charred 66,913 acres.
Authorities say that the Telegraph Fire has burned since last week but is zero per cent contained, while the Mescal Fire is 23 per cent contained.
At least 2,500 homes in Gila County have been evacuated, said Carl Melford, the county emergency manager.
And he estimated that there was twice as many households with bags packed just in case they have to leave quickly.
At least six Greek villages and two monasteries were evacuated on Wednesday night due to a major forest fire on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, about 90 km west of Athens, fire officials said.
"The fire is raging on a wide front near the village of Skinos, a fire brigade spokesman told AFP. According to Greek media, several homes were damaged but no casualties were reported immediately.
Some 180 firefighters, supported by 17 planes and three helicopters, are involved in the extinguishing operations, the Greek fire brigade tweeted.
"This is the first major fire of 2021 (...) villages have been evacuated as a precaution," fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told Skai TV.
Black smoke from the fire was visible from the capital.
Indefatigable genius and digital friend of the Tusk, Dr. Martin Sweatman, authored a surprise blockbuster this week. Below is a peer-reviewed and fully accepted pre-online synthesis overview of the Younger Dryas Impact controversy since the very first paper in 2007. 'The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: review of the impact evidence' concludes — in perhaps the world's most appropriate and respected scientific journal — that based on the published evidence, our modern world is indeed birthed of a horrendous global catastrophe ~12,881 years ago. It is a lengthy, detailed, fair and lucid tour-de-force in support of The Event based on Martin's reading of the entire debate.
Martin is an example to the Tusk of how many, many people there are on earth. You have to have 8+ billion humans in order to have enough brain matter and determination on the end of the bell curve to find a just one single, well-qualified, unbiased, poly-curious scientist, so determined to find the truth that they will to read every last word — and then write every last word — well.
Could burning ground in an area as extremely cold as Oymyakon be caused by zombie fires?
The air temperature in the Oymyakon district of Yakutia is still negative at nights, with daytime just about climbing over 1C.
Snow is beginning to melt, but rivers are still locked in ice for at least a couple weeks more - which is completely normal for Oymyakon, the coldest permanently inhabited settlement on Earth.
What is abnormal is the sight of a dozen wildfires burning a short distance north and south from this famous Pole of Cold.
The first was registered as unusually early as 29 April by the settlement of Teryut, a short distance north from Oymyakon.
Sentinel-2 satellite caught sight of frozen Indigirka River, snow-covered mountains, and ominous dark-orange dots scattered along the valleys.
The second set of fires was recorded south of Oymyakon and even closer by distance (within 20km, or 12 milds) on 1 May.
Last summer was one of the worst in the history of Yakutia for the number of wildfires, with many registered above the Arctic circle.
A field of dry reeds went up in flames on the suburb of Omsk in Western Siberia
Omsk region emergency services said number of wildfires is seven to ten times above the 'norm'.
A field of dry reeds went up in flames on the suburb of Omsk in Western Siberia, possibly as a result of an outdoor weekend barbecue.
It took eighteen firefighters to stop the fire.
Comment: Extremes of weather are wreaking havoc across the planet, with regions seeing heavy flooding and unusual cold that is then followed by stretches of unseasonably warm and exceptionally dry conditions:
A 'major incident' has been declared in Northern Ireland over a wildfire burning in an area of outstanding natural beauty. More than 70 firefighters were involved Saturday in trying to contain the wildfire, while helicopters from both Britain and Ireland are set to join the effort. The wildfire started on Friday morning in the Slieve Donard area — the highest point in Northern Ireland, with a peak of 850 meters (2,780 feet).
Firefighters in Cape Town finally brought a wildfire under control Monday after it swept across the slopes of the city's famed Table Mountain, burning the university's historic library and forcing the evacuation of some neighborhoods.
The smoldering fire is being watched for flareups amid high winds and hot, dry conditions.
City authorities said the fire, which started early Sunday, was "largely contained" more than 24 hours later.
The fire had already badly damaged the library and other buildings on the campus of the University of Cape Town on Sunday, as well as other historic buildings nearby. Fueled by the high winds, it spread through the wild bush on the mountain slopes toward the city's center and the surrounding residential areas.
Devil's Peak, one of the iconic points of the mountain which overlooks downtown Cape Town, was lit up by flames as the fire raged through the night. Residents of suburbs on the mountain slopes were evacuated early Monday as the blaze came dangerously close to their homes.
Comment: More from RT: There is speculation the fire was sparked by a CN train passing through the tinder-dry area: