Man in his 60s was fighting large blaze near Ravensthorpe, about 500km south-east of Perth
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A farmer working frantically to protect his property from a fast-moving bushfire has died after his vehicle was engulfed in flames.
The man aged in his 60s was operating a front-end loader as he tried to create a fire break at West River, about 500km drive south-east of Perth on Monday afternoon.
Continue reading...Fire-resistant upgrades are included in replacement structure less than a year after fires destroyed 13,000 homes
Less than a year after the Palisades fire destroyed nearly 7,000 structures in Los Angeles, the first completed rebuilt home is being celebrated in Pacific Palisades.
In a statement, mayor Karen Bass confirmed that the Los Angeles department of building and safety had issued the certificate on Friday, certifying that the home had passed inspection and was ready for occupancy.
Continue reading...Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, allegedly used ChatGPT to create scenes of a city burning and to confide an obsession with fires
Just after midnight on New Year’s Day, a 29-year-old Uber driver named Jonathan Rinderknecht allegedly ignited what became the most destructive wildfire in Los Angeles history.
Nearly 10 months after the disaster, Rinderknecht’s arrest this week brought some closure to residents. Investigators say he was a troubled young man obsessed with fire, who tried to hide his role after setting a small blaze that reignited days later into a deadly inferno.
Continue reading...Of 200 fires in the past 44 years, half of the fires that cost US$1bn or more were in the last decade
Wildfires tore through central Chile last year, killing 133 people. In California, 18,000 buildings were destroyed in 2018 causing US$16bn (A$24bn, £12bn) in damage. Portugal, Greece, Algeria and Australia have all felt the grief and the economic pain in recent years.
As the headlines, the death tolls and the billion dollar losses from wildfires have stacked up around the world, so too have the rising temperatures – fuelled by the climate crisis – that create tinderbox conditions.
Continue reading...A third of Etosha national park has been burned despite efforts of volunteers, who say troops were sent in too late
Wildfires that raged through one of Africa’s largest national parks have been brought under control, Namibia’s government has said, amid criticisms over the response mechanism and limited resources.
The fire broke out in Etosha national park, in the arid desert nation’s north, on 22 September. The government said it suspected charcoal production next to the park, which is home to 114 mammal species including the critically endangered black rhino, was to blame.
Continue reading...Vast tract of park that is home to 114 mammal species, including critically endangered black rhino, affected
Namibia has begun deploying hundreds of soldiers to fight a fire that has burned through a third of the vast Etosha national park, one of Africa’s largest game reserves, officials said.
The park in the north of the largely desert country is home to 114 species of mammals, notably the critically endangered black rhinoceros, and is a major tourist attraction.
Continue reading...Evacuation orders have now been lifted on fast-growing blaze near Paia, recalling Lahaina’s deadly 2023 fire
Officials on the Hawaiian island of Maui went door to door evacuating residents from a wildfire Tuesday and sounded emergency sirens. But evacuation orders were lifted later in the day, as the threat from the fire receded.
The fire, which on Tuesday grew to more than 100 acres (40 hectares), was first reported at 1.30pm near the north shore town of Paia, officials said.
Continue reading...Wildfires were 30% more intense than would have been expected without global heating, scientists say
The extreme weather that fuelled “astonishing” blazes across Spain and Portugal last month was made 40 times more likely by climate breakdown, early analysis suggests.
The deadly wildfires, which torched 500,000 hectares (1.2m acres) of the Iberian peninsula in a matter of weeks, were also 30% more intense than scientists would have expected in a world without climate change, according to researchers from the World Weather Attribution network.
Continue reading...Blaze in Chinese Camp – a town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners – was caused by lightning, authorities say
Multiple structures burned in a historic Gold Rush town in northern California on Tuesday night, after thousands of lightning strikes ignited a spate of fast-moving fires in the rural dry foothills of the Eastern Sierra.
Chinese Camp, about 57 miles (92km) east of Stockton and named for the Chinese miners who settled there, is a registered California landmark filled with historic structures, and home to roughly 60 residents.
Continue reading...Pedro Sánchez says country’s deadly August wildfires show society needs to mobilise and take immediate action
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has announced a 10-point plan to prepare the country for the climate emergency, warning: “If we don’t want to bequeath our children a Spain that’s grey from fire and flames, or a Spain that’s brown from floods, then we need a Spain that’s greener.”
Sánchez said August’s heatwave-fuelled wildfires – which killed four people, burned through an area six times the size of Ibiza and required “the biggest human and technical deployment” ever seen in Spain – showed that immediate action must be taken to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.
Continue reading...Pickett fire chars Napa wine country while predicted thunderstorms add to danger of Oregon’s Flat fire
Wildfires raging in northern California wine country and central Oregon have destroyed multiple homes and threatened thousands more as hot, dry weather created challenges for firefighters battles the blazes.
Ten structures – including four homes – have been destroyed in Oregon’s Deschutes County as of Monday, where a wildfire dubbed the Flat fire continues to burn.
Continue reading...Country’s weather agency says 10-day period from 8-17 August was hottest since at least 1950, as fires still rage
A 16-day heatwave Spain suffered this month was “the most intense on record”, the country’s state meteorological agency (AEMET) has said.
Provisional readings for the 3-18 August heatwave exceeded the last record, set in July 2022, and showed an average temperature 4.6C higher than for previous such phenomena, the agency said on X.
Continue reading...Canada’s response to the extreme weather threat is being upended as the traditional epicentre of the blazes shifts as the climate warms
Road closures, evacuations, travel chaos and stern warnings from officials have become fixtures of Canada’s wildfire season. But as the country goes through its second-worst burn on record, the blazes come with a twist: few are coming from the western provinces, the traditional centre of destruction.
Instead, the worst of the fires have been concentrated in the prairie provinces and the Atlantic region, with bone-dry conditions upending how Canada responds to a threat that is only likely to grow as the climate warms.
Continue reading...Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe
Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.
The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.
Continue reading...Lee fire is one of largest blazes in state history after burning 130,000 acres, while Elk fire surpassed 14,000 acres
Firefighters in Colorado responding to one of the largest blazes in the state’s history are facing gusty winds and dry conditions that are expected to continue to drive extreme fire behavior.
More than 1,000 firefighters have been deployed, and while crews have gained containment on one fire, another has grown amid fire-friendly weather.
Continue reading...More than 470 Canadian fires classified as ‘out of control’ as scientists say climate change exacerbating the burning
With hundreds of wildfires burning out of control, Canada’s 2025 fire season is already the second-worst on record, as scientists report climate change is prolonging and exacerbating the burning, leading to more destruction, evacuations and smoke-filled skies.
More than 470 fires across the country are currently classified as “out of control”, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC).
Continue reading...Four-year-old boy dies of heatstroke in Italy as scientists warn of ‘molotov cocktail’ of climatic conditions
Deadly heat of up to 44C is searing southern Europe, as scientists warn of a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires across the Mediterranean.
In Italy, where temperatures of 40C are expected in Florence later this week, a four-year-old boy died of heatstroke, and a red alert warning was issued for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.
Continue reading...Lee fire chars more than 167 sq miles with 6% containment as California crews reach 62% containment on Canyon fire
A Colorado prison was evacuated as one of the largest wildfires in state history continued to grow, and officials warned residents of remote areas to be ready to leave on Sunday as gusty winds and low humidity fed the flames.
Evacuation orders were already in place for mountain communities as the Lee fire charred more than 167 sq miles (433 sq km) across Garfield and Rio Blanco counties, with just 6% containment. No injuries or structural damage has been reported.
Continue reading...Advancing blaze scorches 16,000 hectares near Spanish border, destroying homes and forcing people to flee
Hundreds of firefighters are battling to stop the spread of a fast-moving wildfire in southern France after one woman died and nine people were injured as the blaze scorched a vast area of the Corbières hills.
The blaze burned an area the size of Paris over one afternoon and night and was still burning on Wednesday evening, making it the second biggest fire in France in 50 years.
Continue reading...Hundreds of fires across Canada and parts of the US prompt alerts in 14 states from Great Lakes region to the north-east
Hundreds of wildfires continued to burn across Canada and parts of the US on Tuesday sending smoke from the blazes across the region and reducing air quality in both countries.
US air quality tanked from the Great Lakes region to the north-east, making skies hazy from Minneapolis to New York City and even prompting a ground stop at Boston’s Logan international airport due to “low visibility” on Monday. Detroit, New York City and Chicago continued to record some of the worst air quality in the world on Tuesday, according to IQAir, ranking fourth, 10th and 11th respectively.
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