Wildfires
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Extinguisher

Perth, Western Australia: Wildfire razes 27 homes, one man dead

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© AP Photo/Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Evan CollisIn this image released by Department of Fire and Emergency Services, a wildfire burn trees and bushland along a roadside in Perth Hills in western Australia on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014.
A fast-moving wildfire destroyed at least 27 homes in western Australia's Perth, officials said Monday, with one man dying as he prepared for the approaching inferno.

The blaze, thought to have been started by a fallen power line in the city's wooded outskirts on Sunday, was fanned by hot, strong gusts that saw 20-metre (66-foot) flames tear through residential streets.

"It has been confirmed that 27 homes have been lost at this stage, but this number is expected to increase as damage assessments continue throughout the day," Western Australia state's fire and emergency services department said.

The ambulance service said a man, aged 62, had died after collapsing on the roof of his house as he prepared for the oncoming blaze.

"St John('s Ambulance) responded to the incident but was unable to access the roof," it said.

"Despite assistance from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services in getting onto the roof, the man passed away at the scene."

Hundreds of residents fled their homes for evacuation centres and were anxiously awaiting news Monday. Some said they'd had only seconds to escape.

Meteor

From polar vortex to wildfires in one week! Fires break out across Oklahoma

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© UnknownWildfire burns over 1200 acres in Logan County, OK
Several outbuildings were destroyed in a large wildfire that swept through Logan County Sunday afternoon.

Oklahoma's Wildland Task Force was deployed as local fire crews battled flames than spanned across an estimated 1,200 acres near County Road 73 and Post Road.

Guthrie Fire Chief, Eric Harlow says more than 20 agencies assisted in the effort to bring flames under control. Two dozen homes were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Harlow says strong winds caused hot spots from a Saturday fire in Logan County to flare up into a massive fire around noon Sunday.

Clouds of smoke could be seen from miles away, strong winds gusting more than 30 miles per hour swept the fire within five feet of Ralph Hanley's home.

"We came out here and all this here had been burned off," said Hanley, pointing to his backyard, "our neighbors had come over and fought the fire to keep it away from the house."

Comment: First fireballs, then an eruption of wildfires... Coincidence?


Phoenix

Chile authorities issue health alert after forest fire smoke blankets Santiago

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© Claudio Reyes/AFP/Getty ImagesSmoke fills the air above Santiago as wildfires rage.
President announces measures to combat poor air quality and curb spread of diseases transmitted by rodents fleeing the fires

Smoke from dozens of nearby forest fires have blanketed the Chilean capital, leading authorities to issue a health alert.

The fast-spreading fires reached a peak over the weekend. They have caused more than $100m in property losses and forced the 7 million residents of Santiago to breathe the worst air in 15 years.

On Wednesday, strong winds carried a thick blanket of smoke over Santiago, where 40% of Chileans live. Firefighters have been struggling with the blazes as the wind has reignited several of them.

President Sebastian Piñera announced the health alert for four regions at a press conference late on Wednesday. Piñera said the more than 70 forest fires over the past weeks had affected more than 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) of land.

Attention

Best of the Web: Review of extreme weather and cosmic events on Earth in 2013 (VIDEO)

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Record heatwaves and wildfires, widespread and severe flooding, massive sinkholes swallowing buildings and people, mass animal deaths, an asteroid exploding over Russia, thousands more fireballs lighting up the sky throughout the year, record-breaking blizzards snowfall, the coldest northern spring in 100 years, massive landslides, 'rare' tornadoes occurring in places they shouldn't, the widest tornado ever observed, more volcanic eruptions, more major earthquakes forming new islands, the strongest tropical storm in recorded history, successive hurricanes in Europe, the coldest temperature ever recorded, snow in Cairo... these are signs of climate change, aka Earth Changes.

Welcome to the new normal.


Extinguisher

California wildfire grows to 500 acres

big sur wildfire
Big Sur fire burned at least 15 homes by Monday evening and forced dozens of others to evacuate.
A wildfire that broke out late Sunday night along the Big Sur coast, California, burned at least 15 homes by Monday evening and forced dozens of others to evacuate, fire officials said.

The 500-acre blaze, which started near Pfeiffer Ridge Road in the Los Padres National Forest, was fueled by strong winds and was not at all contained by nightfall Monday. But fire crews were hopeful that calmer conditions could help them make progress overnight.

"Right now, the winds have died down; they were really gusting overnight and this morning," said Los Padres National Forest spokesman Andrew Madsten on Monday afternoon. "Hopefully they will get some containment lines cut now."

Smoke could be seen as far away as Monterey Bay. No injuries have been reported, and fire officials said between 50 and 100 homes were evacuated by Monday evening. The Red Cross set up an evacuation center at the Big Sur Grange.

Binoculars

Best of the Web: Signs of change in the last week of September 2013

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The events around the world have been unprecedented over the last few weeks. Some of the most dramatic and unbelievable footage I've ever seen from events that took place in the past week or so. Please use these videos for awareness to these ongoing extremes that seem to be getting worse each week. Prepare for disasters in your area! You're no different than others that are already dealing with them and most were not ready...

In just a couple of weeks we saw a devastating typhoon hit Japan and China, a 'one-in-one-thousand-years' flood hit Colorado, record rainfall in Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, Brazil, and India, fireballs turning night into day over Canada and the US, a powerful tornado in Sao Paulo, a 7.7 earthquake in Pakistan that formed a new island in the ocean, followed just 4 days later by 7.2 in the same region, a 7.0 earthquake in Peru, a daytime fireball in Alabama...these are just some of the highlights from the last week of another crazy month on planet Earth!

Thanks for watching here and stay safe!


Bizarro Earth

2013 is strange, part 18: September 2013

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The green fireball that turned night into day over Ferrara, Italy on September 3rd 2013, the second major fireball to explode over Italy in a week.
'2013 is strange, part 18' covers the 8 days from August 27, 2013 to September 4, 2013 - during which we saw major wildfires in Southern California and elsewhere, volcanic eruptions in Japan and elsewhere, fireballs in Italy and elsewhere... we live in interesting times!

This series include strange phenomena of all kinds and awesome natural events or beautiful phenomena in 2013. Enjoy my editing!

You can find all my other videos for the collective awakening on my channel 2013MESSAGE.


This is an educational/teaching and research purposes only video.

This application is not commercial and is free to use.

Music

1) Pip John - Dante's Riddle
2) How To Dress Well-Take It On (Holy Other Remix)
3) Sun Glitters - The Wind Caresses Her Hair

Cowboy Hat

Idiocracy: Fourth largest fire in California history caused by 'some sort of marijuana-type grove thing'

Todd McNeal
© UnknownFire Chief Todd McNeal
A video of Twain Harte Fire Chief Todd McNeal briefing the community on California's Rim fire surfaced online today, and in it he said that "we know [the fire]'s human-caused, as there was no lightning in the area...and we highly suspect there might be some sort of illicit grove, some sort of marijuana-type grove thing."

The fire started in a remote area Stanislaus National Park known as Jawbone Ridge. The area is familiar to locals not only for the ruggedness of its terrain, but for the recent appearances of "marijuana plantations" in its more inhospitable reaches.

Comment: Yup, it's all down to 'some sort of marijuana-type grove thing'. Pay no attention to the changing weather!


Phoenix

Wildfires sparked by lightning plague Portugal in country's worst drought in recent years

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© Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC
Portugal has been experiencing the worst drought in years. Drought and the dry conditions that follow lead to wildfires set by just a spark or a lightning strike. Portugal's north has been plagued with wildfires due to these such conditions. Spain and France have joined their firefight lending water-dumping aircraft in an effort to quell the raging fires. The dry conditions, heat, high winds, and difficult terrain in the area where the fires have been most active have produced what the firefighters over there have dubbed "the perfect storm."

Bizarro Earth

Giant wildfire chars 15,000 acres within Yosemite National Park, as blaze rages closer to San Francisco water reservoir

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© REUTERS/Max WhittakerFirefighters work to prevent the Rim Fire from jumping Highway 120 near Buck Meadows, California, August 24, 2013.
One of the largest California wildfires in decades roared largely unchecked for a 10th day through forests in and around Yosemite National Park on Monday and threatened a reservoir that supplies most of San Francisco's water.

As of midday, the eastern flank of the so-called Rim Fire had burned to within a mile of Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy reservoir on the Tuolumne River, raising concerns about the possibility of ash and soot contaminating the sprawling artificial lake.

On Saturday, flames had been no closer than 4 miles from the reservoir, which supplies 85 percent of the water consumed by 2.6 million people in San Francisco and several communities in three adjacent counties about 200 miles to the west.

Roughly 300 million gallons of water is carried to the San Francisco Bay area daily through tunnels and an aqueduct, and reservoir samples show water quality has remained healthy since the fire began on August 17, according to a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

"There's no evidence of a change in the water quality, and there's no change in our ability to deliver that water to all of our customers," said the spokeswoman, Suzanne Gautier.