Category Archives: Wildfires

Spanish man filmed escaping wildfire treated for serious burns

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Man in 50s emerges from blaze with clothes burned to rags and flames flickering around him

A Spanish man in his 50s is being treated for serious burns after escaping the flames that engulfed his excavator as he tried to fight one of the wildfires raging in the north-western region of Castilla y León.

Video of the incident, which took place near the town of Tábara in Zamora province on Monday afternoon, shows the vehicle and its driver, Ángel Martín Arjona, being swallowed by the fire and disappearing behind drifts of smoke.

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Forest fires rage across Europe as heatwave sends temperatures soaring

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Civil defence authorities battle blazes that have forced evacuation of thousands of people across continent

Firefighters in Portugal, Spain, France, Greece and Morocco are battling forest fires raging across tens of thousands of hectares as this week’s heatwave continues to bring extreme temperatures and cause hundreds of deaths across south-western Europe.

The second heatwave of the summer – with temperatures hitting 47C (116F) in Portugal and 45C in Spain – has triggered wildfires that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

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Police issue wildfires warning after blazes in Greater Manchester

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Force urges people not to start fires, including barbecues, and report incidents of arson

Police have issued a warning in advance of the potentially unprecedented heatwave coming to the UK after a series of wildfires on moorland near Manchester which they now believe were started deliberately.

The blaze began last weekend and swept across part of Saddleworth Moor near a car park close to the Dovestone reservoir.

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Firefighters tackle southern Europe wildfires as heatwave passes 45C

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Portugal and Spain among countries affected as rescue forces from Greece help battle blazes in southern France

Firefighters are working tirelessly to tackle wildfires raging in parts of southern Europe as a result of soaring temperatures linked to the climate crisis.

France, Portugal and Spain are among the European countries particularly affected, with temperatures of more than 45C (113F) recorded during a heatwave that is also sweeping the UK.

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Thousands evacuated as heat causes wildfires in Europe and north Africa

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Portugal declares ‘state of contingency’ as France, Spain and Morocco also battle fires, while record heat hits China

Thousands of people in Portugal, Spain, France and Morocco have been evacuated from their homes as firefighters tackle wildfires caused by this week’s heatwave, which has brought extreme temperatures of more than 45C (113F) to parts of Europe and north Africa.

One person has died and at least 135 people have suffered mainly minor injuries since wildfires began in Portugal last week. A “state of contingency” has been in effect since Sunday, and about 800 people have been evacuated from their homes, according to the country’s Civil Protection Authority.

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Yosemite wildfire continues to grow as it pushes east into Sierra national forest

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Giant sequoias still safe as firefighters face challenges from the warm and dry conditions fueling the blaze

The wildfire sweeping through Yosemite national park swelled to more than 4,375 acres (1,770 hectares) by Thursday morning, and is now pushing east into the Sierra national forest.

Raging across steep and rugged terrain, firefighters have faced challenges battling the blaze, which has exhibited extreme fire behavior, officials said. Warm and dry conditions as well as dried out vegetation have upped the intensity, spurring flames that, in some areas, stretched high into the canopies of the tall trees and produced large plumes of smoke that billowed into the sky.

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California wildfire forces partial closure of Yosemite national park

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Washburn fire is burning near southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, home to over 500 mature giant sequoias

Yosemite national park has been partially closed as firefighters try to contain a wildfire that has now stretched across more than 60 acres.

The Washburn fire is burning near the southern portion of the park, Mariposa Grove, which is home to more than 500 mature giant sequoias in the park, officials said.

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Peruvian firefighters contain blaze near Machu Picchu after three days

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Forest fire broke out on Tuesday and destroyed around 100 acres of land – the equivalent of about 50 football pitches

Peruvian authorities say firefighters have managed to control a forest fire near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu after three days battling the flames.

The blaze near one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites broke out on Tuesday, destroying around 100 acres of land – the equivalent of about 50 football pitches.

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Peru wildfire threatens Machu Picchu as remote location hampers efforts to control blaze

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Twenty hectares near Inca ruins affected in blaze started by farmers burning grass before sowing crops

Peruvian firefighters were fighting to contain a forest fire near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu as the blaze threatened to close in on the ancient city in the Andean mountains on Thursday.

The fire, which had engulfed an area about half the size of Vatican City, was started on Tuesday by farmers burning grass and debris to prepare to sow crops.

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US Forest Service admits ‘multiple miscalculations’ caused New Mexico fire

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In an 80-page review, the agency states missteps by its employees in setting prescribed burns led to explosive wildfire

Employees with the US Forest Service made multiple miscalculations, used inaccurate models and underestimated how dry conditions were in the south-west, causing a planned burn to reduce the threat of wildfires to explode into the largest blaze in New Mexico’s recorded history, the agency said on Tuesday.

The agency quietly posted an 80-page review that details the planning missteps and the conditions on the ground as crews ignited the prescribed fire in early April. The report states officials who planned the operation underestimated the amount of timber and vegetation that was available to fuel the flames, the exceptional dry conditions and the rural villages and water supplies that would be threatened if things went awry.

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Spain battles wildfires fuelled by one of earliest heatwaves on record

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One blaze has burned 25,000 hectares of Sierra de la Culebra, home to one of Europe’s largest wolf populations

Flames licked roads and coloured the sky orange as firefighters in northern Spain scrambled to contain dozens of blazes fuelled by one of the earliest heatwaves on record.

In the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range in the north-western province of Zamora, flames devoured more than 25,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents from 18 municipalities.

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Arizona wildfires: intense conditions send smoke plumes billowing into sky

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Crews battled the gusty winds as the Pipeline fire exploded to more than 24,000 acres by Tuesday morning

Fueled by gusty winds through drought-stricken remote terrain, wildfires burning north of Flagstaff, Arizona, exploded in size on Monday, with officials estimating more than 24,000 acres (9,700 hectares) had been blackened by Tuesday morning.

Fire crews battling the blaze have faced intense conditions that have caused extreme fire behavior and sent enormous smoke plumes swirling into the sky.

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Biden faces anger over huge New Mexico wildfire sparked by federal burns

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President visits state beset by Hermits Peak Calif Canyon fire, result of two accidental fires that merged

Joe Biden landed in New Mexico on Saturday amid anger and frustration from wildfire survivors as he visited the state to review efforts to fight its biggest blaze in recorded history – which was started by federal officials.

Driven by drought and wind, the fire has destroyed hundreds of homes in mountains north-east of Santa Fe since two controlled burns by the US Forest Service went out of control in April.

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Residents evacuated as wildfire on outskirts of Athens threatens homes

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Clouds of thick smoke build over Greek capital’s southern suburbs as more than 100 firefighters fight blaze

A wildfire on the outskirts of the Greek capital Athens is threatening homes and infrastructure, with some residents being evacuated by the authorities.

The blaze has spread across the slopes of Mount Hymettus, which overlooks Athens, sending clouds of thick smoke drifting over the city’s southern suburbs. Strong winds have helped fan the fire.

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Critical fire condition warnings issued across US south-west

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Predicted wind gusts could cause fire to jump containment lines as crews in New Mexico try to stop growth of US’s biggest wildfire

Warnings of critical fire conditions are peppered across much of the US south-west this weekend, as crews in northern New Mexico worked to stop the growth of the nation’s largest active wildfire.

Two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history have both been traced to planned burns set by federal forest managers as preventative measures, federal investigators have announced.

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5,000 firefighters tackle wildfires across US south-west

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High winds have hampered operations as crews fight blazes in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico

More than 5,000 firefighters have battled multiple wildland blazes in dry, windy weather across the south-west, including a fire that has destroyed dozens of structures in west Texas and another picking up steam again in New Mexico.

Evacuation orders remained in place on Thursday for residents near the wildfires in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. High winds prevented officials from sending aircraft to drop retardant or water in many places.

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‘Everything was orange’: US wildfires burning at furious pace early this year

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Wind-driven flames tearing through dry vegetation exacerbated by the climate crisis in California and New Mexico

Extreme conditions have fueled an explosive start to what’s expected to be yet another intense season of big blazes, with months to go before wildfire threats typically peak across the west.

Wildfires have charred close to 1.3m acres nationwide this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), outpacing the 10-year average for this time of year by more than 71%. Predictions for the rest of the spring do not bode well for the west, with the drought and warmer weather brought on by the climate crisis worsening wildfire danger.

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New Mexico wildfire rampages on as fresh blaze engulfs California mansions

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Challenging weather hampers firefighting in New Mexico, while in California, wealthy coastal enclave goes up in flames

Extreme fire conditions are continuing to fuel a massive wildfire in northern New Mexico, making it difficult for crews to contain the largest blaze in the US, which grew to nearly 260,000 acres acres on Thursday.

The continued destruction came as a smaller fire broke out in California, destroying more than 20 homes, many of them multimillion-dollar mansions, in the coastal community of Laguna Niguel.

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New Mexico wildfire spreading north toward mountain resort towns near Taos

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Two more days of high winds and very dry conditions expected as fire warnings issued across much of the western US

Many houses near America’s largest wildfire survived the latest barrage of howling winds and erratic flames but New Mexico’s governor said on Tuesday the risk of more destruction is high and that the long-term costs of recovering from the huge blaze will soar.

Two more days of strong winds and dangerously bone-dry conditions are in the forecast before some relief is expected on Friday.

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Potentially historic winds forecast as firefighters battle New Mexico wildfire

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Planes and helicopters used as hundreds work feverishly to contain largest fire burning in US


Extreme wind conditions described as potentially historic were forecast for New Mexico on Saturday and for the next several days as hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of airplanes and helicopters worked feverishly to bolster lines around the largest fire burning in the US.

Many families already have been left homeless and thousands of residents have evacuated due to flames that have charred large swaths of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in north-eastern New Mexico.

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