Europeans are dying from hot weather 30% more than they did two decades ago, report finds
Scorching weather has baked Europe in more days of “extreme heat stress” than its scientists have ever seen.
Heat-trapping pollutants that clog the atmosphere helped push temperatures in Europe last year to the highest or second-highest levels ever recorded, according to the EU’s Earth-watching service Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Continue reading...Worst-ever fire season in 2023 saw 15m hectare burned, eight firefighters killed and 230,000 people evacuated
Canada risks another “catastrophic” wildfire season, the federal government has warned, forecasting higher-than-normal spring and summer temperatures across much of the country, boosted by El Niño weather conditions.
Last year, Canada endured its worst-ever fire season, with more than 6,600 blazes burning 15m hectares (37m acres), an area roughly seven times the annual average. Eight firefighters died and 230,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
Continue reading...Year of devastating wildfires meant Canadians were breathing worse air than southern neighbours for first time ever
Canada’s pristine air quality has been long praised by its citizens and prized by its government. But the thick plumes of smoke and miles of haze released by a record-breaking season of wildfires deteriorated the country’s air so much that it has fallen behind the United States for the first time on record, highlighting the wide-ranging and damaging effects of the blazes.
In its sixth annual World Air Quality report released on Tuesday, the Switzerland-based IQAir found overall air quality in Canada was worse than its southern neighbour. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada. Overall, Canada and the United States were ranked 93 and 102 for their air quality (Bangladesh, at No 1 was the most polluted).
Continue reading...Investigation by forest service into Smokehouse Creek fire says decayed Xcel Energy pole ‘had broken off at ground level’
The biggest wildfire in Texas state history, which killed two people and scorched more than 1m acres, was caused by a power line pole that had decayed at the base, an investigation has concluded.
The finding comes from a Texas A&M forest service investigation into the Smokehouse Creek fire, which blazed through the state’s Panhandle region and into neighbouring Oklahoma after breaking out near the small town of Stinnett on 26 February.
Continue reading...Up to 500 homes and businesses have been destroyed and two people killed in state’s northern Panhandle area
Rain and snow are expected in parts of the Texas Panhandle area starting Thursday, bringing possible respite to the Lone Star state as firefighters continue to battle the largest wildfire in its history.
Up to 500 homes and businesses have been destroyed by the flames as of Monday, and two people have died: Cindy Owen, 44, and Joyce Blankenship, 83. Thousands of cattle have also either been killed or euthanized after being injured in the wildfires.
Continue reading...Planes drop fire retardant on blazes that have destroyed up to 500 homes and businesses but weather change may offer some respite
Firefighters in Texas are battling strong winds and warm temperatures as they work to stop the largest wildfire in state history.
The large Smokehouse Creek fire was 15% contained and two other fires were 60% contained. Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.
Continue reading...Largest fire in state history so far scorched 1.1m acres and killed two people, while thousands of livestock were killed or euthanized
Ferocious winds continue to thwart firefighters across a broad swathe of Texas on Sunday where the second largest wildfire in US history is only 15% contained after six days.
As of Sunday morning the Smokehouse Creek Fire has so far scorched almost 1.1m acres – 1,700 sq miles – across the Texas Panhandle in the north of the state, as well as tens of thousands of acres in Oklahoma.
Continue reading...Personnel battle to keep largest wildfire in state history from turning more of the Panhandle into a parched wasteland
Firefighters in Texas faced rising temperatures, whipped-up winds and dry air Saturday in their battle to keep the largest wildfire in state history from turning more of the Panhandle into a parched wasteland.
Firefighters were focused on containing the fire along its northern and eastern perimeters, where aggressive gusts from the south-west threatened to spread the flames and consume more acreage, according to Jason Nedlo, a spokesperson with the team of firefighters battling the Smokehouse Creek fire, which began Monday and has claimed at least two lives.
Continue reading...Governor issues disaster declaration as emergency crews work to contain dozens of wildfires burning across Texas Panhandle
Dozens of wildfires are causing chaos across the Texas Panhandle as the Smokehouse Creek fire – now the largest blaze in state history – grew to more than 1mn acres on Thursday, even as a dusting of snow brought a measure of relief.
At least two people have died, according to officials. The second victim, confirmed by the Texas department of public safety Thursday afternoon, has been identified as Cindy Owens, a 40-year-old woman who was reportedly overtaken by the fire when she got out of her truck in the town of Canadian. The first, 83-year-old grandmother Joyce Blankenship, was killed in her neighborhood of Stinnett, north-east of Amarillo.
Continue reading...Residents across state’s west told to take action while bushfire continues to burn near Ballarat
Authorities remained on high alert for bushfires as temperatures rose across Victoria on Wednesday afternoon, with the state’s control centre warning the state was not “out of the woods”.
Catastrophic conditions had been forecast in the Wimmera region, in the state’s west, on Wednesday afternoon, while half the state was under an extreme fire danger rating. Emergency authorities had on Wednesday morning issued a final warning for residents in the state’s west to leave.
Continue reading...People who lost loved ones or were injured may be eligible for payout from fund announced Tuesday – but there’s a catch
Hawaii governor Josh Green unveiled on Tuesday a multimillion-dollar fund to compensate families of people who were killed on Maui during the deadliest wildfire in the nation in more than a century.
The announcement marks the first phase of the $175m One Ohana Fund that was proposed on 8 November, two months after at least 101 were killed in Lahaina, a coastal town on Maui. If found eligible, people who lost a loved one will receive $1.5m, and disbursements for those who survived but were gravely injured will vary, according to Green’s press release. The fund will begin accepting applications on 1 March.
Continue reading...Unseasonably warm temperatures, strong winds and dry grasses fuel Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in the state
The main facility that assembles and disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal shut down its operations on Tuesday night as fires raged out of control in Texas.
Pantex issued a statement online saying it had paused operations until further notice. “The fire near Pantex is not contained,” the company said. “Response efforts have shifted to evacuations. There is a small number of non-essential personnel sheltered on-site.”
Since 1975, Pantex has been the US main assembly and disassembly site for its atomic bombs. It assembled the last new bomb in 1991. In the time since, it has dismantled thousands of weapons. Pantex is located 30 miles (48km) east of Amarillo.
Firefighters continue to battle blazes as they brace for temperatures to exceed 40C in western parts of the state this week
Six homes have been destroyed by bushfires in Victoria, as authorities issue a warning of “grave concern” for fire danger in the state on Wednesday.
On Sunday morning, Victoria’s emergency services minister, Jaclyn Symes, announced that after 228 impact assessments were carried out following fires in western Victoria, six residential homes were deemed to have been destroyed.
Continue reading...Warnings remained in place for a group of communities west of Ballarat as crews work to get blaze under control
At least three homes have been confirmed destroyed by a bushfire in western Victoria, with fire authorities warning that some towns remain under threat.
There were fears that as many as 10 houses may have been claimed by the fire burning west of Ballarat, and “watch and act” warnings remain in place for Bayindeen, Chute, Elmhurst, Mount Lonarch and surrounds, Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) said.
Continue reading...Fires in Valparaíso said to be country’s deadliest disaster since 2010 earthquake
The death toll from wildfires that ravaged central Chile for several days has risen to 131, and more than 300 people remain missing as the blazes appear to be burning themselves out.
The fires in the Valparaíso region are said to be Chile’s deadliest disaster since an earthquake in 2010. Officials have suggested that some of the fires could have been lit intentionally.
Continue reading...Death count for Chile’s worst natural disaster in years expected to climb as official two-day mourning period begins
Helicopters dumped tonnes of water on wildfires raging across central Chile, as emergency crews said they were still finding bodies three days after the blazes took hold.
The official death count from Chile’s worst natural disaster in years increased to 123 on Monday according to Marisol Prado, the director of Chile’s forensic medical service. That number was expected to climb as residents, firefighters and military raced to clear rubble.
Continue reading...People told to evacuate homes as quickly as possible and curfews declared in cities most heavily affected
Firefighters are wrestling with huge forest fires that broke out in central Chile on Friday. Officials have extended curfews in cities most heavily affected by the blazes and said the death toll has increased to 112 killed.
The fires have been burning with the highest intensity around the city of Viña del Mar, where a botanical garden founded in 1931 was destroyed by the flames. At least 1,600 people have been left without homes.
Continue reading...At least 46 people reported dead as dozens of fires sweep across central and southern regions, with Valparaíso worst affected
At least 46 people have died from forest fires raging in central Chile, President Gabriel Boric has said, warning that the death toll is likely to rise.
Earlier on Saturday, Chile’s interior minister, Carolina Tohá, said there were currently 92 forest fires in the centre and south of the country, where temperatures were unusually high. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed.
Continue reading...Identifying those who died has been arduous, with forensic experts and cadaver dogs sifting through ash
Hawaii officials said Friday that they had identified the last of the 100 known victims of the wildfire that destroyed Lahaina in August.
The victim was Lydia Coloma, 70, Maui police said.
Continue reading...Dalton Clark Stewart, 22, accused of lighting Canada’s Barrington Lake fire, which burned for one month in 2023
A Nova Scotia man has been charged for allegedly starting the eastern Canadian province’s largest-ever wildfire.
The charges against Dalton Clark Stewart, 22, come only days after a Quebec man, inspired by conspiracy theories, pleaded guilty to 14 charges of arson after deliberately lighting forest fires.
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