A brief downpour helped crews on the ground, but experts warn they could face unstable wind conditions that could blow fire back at them
Firefighters have managed to partially contain a giant wildfire in the Mojave desert that scorched tens of thousands of acres of scrub and sent smoke across the Las Vegas Strip.
The York fire was mapped at roughly 125 sq miles (323.7 sq km) on Tuesday, with 23% containment, making it the largest wildfire of the season in California.
Continue reading...‘No active front’ in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece blazes as more than 460 firefighters remain on alert
Wildfires that have scorched Greece for more than two weeks are under control, but firefighters remain in key hotspots as strong winds remain a threat, officials have said.
“Scattered fire pockets are being extinguished,” the fire department said on Saturday, adding that there was “no active front” in the three biggest wildfires in Rhodes, Corfu and central Greece that forced thousands of people to flee.
Continue reading...Holidaymakers booked into luxury hotels but sleeping in a sports hall feel let down by tour operators but are touched by the kindness of locals
“Have you ever watched Squid Game? This is how it feels.” The words of one British tourist, among the last remaining of 700 holidaymakers put up in an evacuation centre in Rhodes after fleeing the raging wildfires, summed up the chaos and panic that many had experienced as dream holidays had gone up in smoke.
Susan Johnson, 64, from Salisbury, had arrived in Rhodes on Saturday night for a luxurious stay in a five-star hotel, but after landing she had been bussed to Venetokleio sports hall, where she had spent the following four days. She was growing increasingly tired and frustrated and was in pain. “We’re still not sleeping at night,” she said on Tuesday morning. “You don’t sleep properly.”
Continue reading...Three people killed in Sicily fires and four in northern storms as hundreds forced to flee homes
Seven people have died in the past 24 hours as two extreme weather events split Italy between wildfires in the south and violent storms in the north.
Fires in Sicily caused the temporary closure of Palermo airport after temperatures in the city climbed to 47C on Monday.
Continue reading...Patrick Courtown sounds warning as evacuation flights head to Greek island to rescue stranded Britons
Wildfires in Rhodes are a “wake-up call” on the effects of the climate crisis, a UK government minister has said, as empty planes were sent to the Greek island to help bring home stranded Britons.
After a mass evacuation from parts of Rhodes, members of the House of Lords were told the situation was “stabilising” and there was no immediate need for the government to advise people to stop travelling there.
Continue reading...Kyriakos Mitsotakis warns of difficult summer ahead as wildfires continue to rage and more tourists fly home
The Mediterranean is a “hotspot for climate change”, the Greek prime minister has said, as more tourists boarded repatriation flights home and a firefighting mission ended in tragedy when a water-bombing plane crashed into a hillside.
The water bomber, a Canadair CL215, smashed into a hillside in Evia in the battle to extinguish flames near a village outside Karystos. Greece’s airforce, to which the plane belongs said it was being flown by two Greek pilots, and they had launched a rescue mission.
Continue reading...Alicia Kearns backs calls for the government to advise against travel to the Greek island
Travel firms that continue to fly tourists to Rhodes have been accused of “profiteering” by a senior Conservative, as ministers faced pressure over official travel advice for the island, where 10,000 British tourists have been stranded.
As flights rescuing holidaymakers began arriving in the UK on Monday, calls continued for a change in the Foreign Office’s stance on the categorisation of Rhodes to enable tourists to get a refund for their trips through their travel insurance.
Continue reading...Travellers say they faced ‘absolute chaos’ as they were forced to flee with luggage still at hotels
Dean Mason, 56, from Rothley in Leicestershire, described getting caught up in the Rhodes wildfires as a “near-death experience”.
Mason arrived at a hotel in Kiotari beach a week ago with his wife, daughter, and four-year-old granddaughter.
Continue reading...Latest news: Kyriakos Mitsotakis tells parliament ‘we are at war’ as nearly 2,500 people evacuated from Corfu
Ludovica Gazze, an associate professor of economics at the University of Warwick, says the pollution from the wildfires is likely to have an effect throughout Greece – and beyond.
The economic costs of wildfires are substantial and widespread. There are the immediate and visible costs of healthcare and assistance, as well as forgone tourist income.
There are also the invisible costs of the pollution caused by wildfires, which can travel hundreds of miles as we saw in the case of the Canada wildfires in June. Pollution worsens health, cognition, and productivity.
There’s no coincidence at all that climate change has driven these higher temperatures, and the higher temperatures are causing the fires that are spreading.
The only way to tackle this is deep and rapid emissions reductions. In terms of greenhouse gases, we have virtually doubled the amount of greenhouse gases compared to the pre-industrial level.
Continue reading...About 7,500 firefighters trying to bring blazes under control and 1,500 people evacuated as heatwave spreads
Thirty-four people including 10 soldiers have been killed by wildfires in the mountainous Béjaïa and Bouïra regions of Algeria, as a heatwave spreads across north Africa and southern Europe.
About 8,000 firefighters were trying to bring the flames under control, authorities said, adding that about 1,500 people had been evacuated.
Continue reading...Boats ready to pick up evacuees on Corfu as heatwave continues and firefighters tackle blazes on Rhodes that sparked Greece’s largest wildfire evacuation
Firefighters in Greece were struggling to contain 82 wildfires burning across the country, 64 of which started on Sunday, the hottest day of the summer so far.
As well as huge blazes on the island of Rhodes, which forced 19,000 to flee, wildfires also broke out on the islands of Evia and Corfu.
Continue reading...Thousands of people forced to evacuate on Greek island, including 3,000 who had to be ferried off beaches
Thousands of tourists and residents have been forced to evacuate several villages on the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires burned out of control and officials feared that high winds would hamper efforts to contain the flames on Sunday.
The fires have burned for nearly a week on part of the island, as Greece has been battered by an extended spell of extreme heat that has made it difficult to contain the spread of the blazes.
Continue reading...Forestry workers unable to resuscitate unnamed pilot, 41, after helicopter went down near Haig Lake in north-western Alberta
A helicopter pilot has been killed in a crash in western Canada, in the third death in recent days connected with efforts to fight fires in the country’s worst wildfire season on record.
The pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter when it crashed on Wednesday near Haig Lake in north-western Alberta province, and forestry workers were unable to resuscitate him, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. He was declared dead at a nearby airport.
Continue reading...Three brush fires burning in rural areas across Riverside county, where 1,000 homes are under evacuation orders
Firefighters in southern California were battling three separate brush fires that started on Friday afternoon amid a blistering heatwave.
The fires were all within 40 miles (65km) of each other in mostly rural areas across Riverside county, south-east of Los Angeles.
Continue reading...Fire started early hours of Saturday morning in wooded area in north-west of La Palma
Spanish authorities have evacuated about 500 people from the vicinity of a wildfire that has broken out on the island of La Palma.
The fire started in the early hours of Saturday morning in El Pinar de Puntagorda, a wooded area in the north-west of the island in the Canaries.
Continue reading...Devyn Gale killed while tackling British Columbia blaze as wildfires continue to rage across country with little reprieve
Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has paid tribute to a young firefighter who was killed while battling a forest blaze in British Columbia, as wildfires continue to rage across the country and the western province requested an extra 1,000 international firefighters.
Devyn Gale, 19, was part of a team that was tackling a fire outside the town of Revelstoke, about 310 miles (500km) north-east of Vancouver. Revelstoke Royal Canadian Mounted Police said she had been clearing brush in a remote area where a small fire had started. She lost contact with her team and was discovered caught under a fallen tree.
Continue reading...Weather probably milder than previous summers but wet winter spurred growth in grasses and vegetation that is ‘ready to burn’
It’s been a slow start to the summer in California, where an extremely wet winter and unseasonably cool spring have left the landscapes lush. But a timely spike in temperatures is forecast for the holiday weekend, providing both ideal weather for revelry and the return of high risks.
State officials have issued strong warnings to residents and visitors alike: California has been spared a ferocious fire so far this year – but the dangers still loom large.
Continue reading...East coast cities under air quality alerts while southern states grapple with record-breaking deadly heatwave
Here are some pictures coming across the newswires of the heatwave in Texas:
The National Weather Service has issued a fireworks warning as the country heads into next week and Independence Day with record-breaking temperatures across the country.
“In addition to the increasing temperatures, fire danger will also be increasing as we head into next week and Independence Day. Please be safe with fireworks and review any and all burn bans in your area,” it said.
Continue reading...Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifts south into US cities as Texas grapples with record-breaking temperatures
Here are some air and heat safety tips from Dr Nasim Rahman, an indoor air quality expert at Lennox International, a provider of climate control products.
Keep windows and doors closed: When outdoor air quality is at its worst, keep the entry points to your home closed to preserve the air in your home – without unsafely blocking your ability to exit the home.
Keep your system in “on” or “circulate” mode: When avoiding opening doors and windows in your home you should opt to turn your thermostat fan to “on”. In this setting, the air in your home will continuously move through the furnace filter and improve the quality of the air in your home. If you have a smart thermostat in your home, you should utilize the “circulate” option, which will cycle your air for a few minutes every hour, using less energy than the traditional “on” setting.
Avoid activities that increase unhealthy air quality: Avoid activities that create or contribute to smoke or other pollutants in your home. You should avoid smoking, burning candles, or frying foods as these types of activities can significantly decrease the air quality in your home.
Install a high efficiency carbon filter or air purifier: Carbon activated filters can filter out fumes, smoke (up to 99% efficiency), and other chemicals you want to avoid having in the home. While regular filters are capable of removing dust and other similar allergens, a carbon filter is the upgrade you need to keep your home’s air the best it can be during wildfire season.
Maintain seasonal maintenance to keep your unit at top performance: Contacting your trusted HVAC dealer for seasonal maintenance will ensure that your unit is in top condition and ready to perform at maximum efficiency.
Continue reading...This year’s wildfire season is already worst on record as nearly 600m tonnes of carbon has been released since early May
Wildfires raging across Canada, made more intense by global warming, have released more planet-warming carbon dioxide in the first six months of 2023 than in any full year on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service.
This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000sq km (29,000sq miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. That is already greater than the combined area burned in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.
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