Firefighters have wrapped the base of the world’s largest tree in a fire-resistant blanket as they tried to save a famous grove of gigantic old-growth sequoias from wildfires burning in California. The colossal General Sherman tree in Sequoia national park’s giant forest is among the trees to be wrapped in aluminium as wildfires close in on the Giant Forest
Continue reading...Category Archives: Wildfires
‘It’s a reality’: Biden calls for urgency in California as climate crisis fuels wildfires
President calls year-round fires an emergency country can no longer ignore as he advocates for rebuilding plan
Joe Biden travelled to California on Monday to survey wildfire damage as the state battles a devastating fire season that is on track to outpace that of 2020, the state’s worst fire season on record.
The president is using the trip to highlight the connection between the climate crisis and the west’s increasingly extreme wildfires as he seeks to rally support for a $3.5tn spending plan Congress is debating.
Continue reading...Spain wildfire: almost 1,000 emergency workers fighting blaze
Fire in Andalucía region rages for sixth day having already forced evacuation of thousands of people
Almost 1,000 firefighters and emergency workers are battling one of the most intractable Spanish wildfires in recent years as the blaze rages for a sixth day, after devouring at least 7,400 hectares (18,285 acres) of land in the southern region of Andalucía and forcing the evacuation of more than 2,600 people.
On Sunday, 260 members of Spain’s military emergencies unit were deployed to help tackle the fire, which began last Wednesday in the mountainous Sierra Bermeja above the resort town of Estepona, and which now has a perimeter of 53 miles (85km). Experts hope the rain forecast across much of the country on Monday will help extinguish the blaze.
Continue reading...Wildfire in south of Spain forces thousands to flee their homes – video
People have been forced to flee their homes across many Andalucían towns and villages as fire crews in Spain worked to contain wildfire blazes. A military unit has been sent in to help tackle the fires raging close to a Costa del Sol resort. Evacuees, some elderly, took shelter in a sports centre in the nearby town of Ronda, as volunteers brought in bottled water and supplies. Regional environment chief Carmen Crespo said the blaze appeared to have been started deliberately and investigators were working to uncover more details.
Continue reading...Spanish wildfires drive thousands from homes close to Costa del Sol
Firefighters battle to contain blazes in Andalucía as Spain drafts in military to help
People have fled their homes in six more Andalucían towns and villages as Spain sent in a military unit to help tackle wildfires raging close to a Costa del Sol resort.
A blaze fanned by strong winds has driven out almost 2,000 people and killed one emergency worker since it began on Wednesday in the mountainous Sierra Bermeja above Estepona, a popular spot with British tourists and retirees.
Continue reading...‘I will see the ghosts of the dead forest for a long time’ – returning to Evia after the wildfires
Gideon Mendel has been photographing people returning home after the devastation of recent wildfires on the island of Evia in Greece. The work follows his earlier projects about people affected by wildfires in New South Wales, Australia, and flooding globally
At the end of August, as part of my long-term work on the global climate emergency, I travelled to Evia in Greece to explore the impacts of the unprecedented fires that had devastated village communities and the ecology of the island. I chose not to chase the drama of the burning flames, but rather to seek out their aftermath. I encountered endless blackened landscapes and made these portraits of people whose lives have been destroyed by the fire they describe as a “burning hell”. I know that it was not easy for my subjects to return to their homes to be photographed, and for some this was the first time that they had stepped inside since the fire. However, I found that they embraced this moment of having their fractured situation witnessed and were keen to share their stories. I was moved by their openness to my camera after all the horrors of their recent experience. Visually I found that an eerily precise symmetry seemed to emerge from the unspeakable chaos of their ruined homes, many of which are situated in places of profound beauty. I hope that their gaze at the camera will provoke a visceral sense of the climate threat we all face.
Continue reading...Strong winds push surging Caldor fire closer to Lake Tahoe
- Fire’s thick smoke envelops all-but-deserted South Lake Tahoe
- NWS warns of low humidity and gusts that could fuel wildfire
Flames raced across treetops and through drought-stricken vegetation as firefighters scrambled Wednesday to keep a growing California wildfire from reaching a resort city at the southern tip of Lake Tahoe after evacuation orders were expanded to neighboring Nevada.
Related: Empty beaches and eerie skies as Caldor fire looms over Lake Tahoe – in pictures
Continue reading...Empty beaches and eerie skies as Caldor fire looms over Lake Tahoe – in pictures
Scenes from South Lake Tahoe as the raging Caldor fire bears down on the popular resort city and fills the skies with orange smoke. Thousands of firefighters are battling to slow the blaze, which has already consumed an area larger than Chicago
Continue reading...Chaos as Caldor fire forces unprecedented evacuation of Tahoe tourist town
Cal Fire chief warns of ‘fire activity that we have never seen before’ as fleeing residents clog roads
Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate the tourist town of South Lake Tahoe as the raging Caldor fire draws closer, prompting chaotic scenes and clogged roads as residents rush to leave the area.
Monday’s fresh evacuation orders, unheard of in the city, came a day after communities several miles south of the lake were abruptly ordered to evacuate as the wildfire raged nearby.
Continue reading...Caldor fire burns on both sides of US Highway 50, footage shows – video
The Caldor fire continued its slow march toward the Lake Tahoe resort region on Friday. If the fire continues its path, fire crews plan to make a stand at Echo Summit, a mountain pass where US Route 50 begins its descent toward Lake Tahoe.
The fire has been the nation’s top firefighting priority because of its proximity to Lake Tahoe, a popular tourist destination that is home to thousands
Continue reading...Caldor fire advances towards Lake Tahoe as communities clouded in smoke
Fire was less than two dozen miles from Lake Tahoe on Wednesday evening, at times burning 1,000 acres of land an hour
A wind-driven wildfire continued to advance towards Lake Tahoe, clouding the alpine vacation and tourist spot on the California-Nevada state line in a sickly yellow layer of smoke.
The Caldor fire on Wednesday evening was less than two dozen miles (37km) from Lake Tahoe, at times burning 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of land an hour.
Continue reading...Lake Tahoe shrouded in smoke from surging Caldor fire – in pictures
The pristine setting of Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border, was obscured by thick plumes of smoke as thousands of firefighters worked to contain the nearby Caldor fire, which has burned more than 120,000 acres. Tourists wore masks outdoors and ducked into cafes and casinos to escape the haze and the smell
Continue reading...California Caldor fire burns thousands of hectares in weekend surge – video
The owner of a cabin which became surrounded by flames near Kyburz, California, managed to escape the Caldor fire after shooting the first part of this footage. The fire has burned more than 40,500 hectares (100,000 acres) in the north of the state since it started on 14 August, and more than 12,000 in just two days.
More than 500 structures were destroyed over the weekend by wildfire fuelled by warm winds and drought-stricken vegetation
- California’s Caldor fire burns 100,000 acres as it rips through small towns
- The climate science behind wildfires: why are they getting worse? – video explainer
The climate science behind wildfires: why are they getting worse? – video explainer
We are in an emergency. Wildfires are raging across the world as scorching temperatures and dry conditions fuel the blazes that have cost lives and destroyed livelihoods.
The combination of extreme heat, changes in our ecosystem and prolonged drought have in many regions led to the worst fires in almost a decade, and come after the IPCC handed down a damning landmark report on the climate crisis.
But technically, there are fewer wildfires than in the past – the problem now is that they are worse than ever and we are running out of time to act, as the Guardian's global environment editor, Jonathan Watts, explains
Continue reading...California fire destroys mobile homes as 11,000 firefighters battle blazes
- Dry and windy weather hampers efforts to fight dozens of fires
- Dixie fire, California’s biggest, only 35% contained
Dry and windy weather hampered efforts to contain destructive fires that are devouring the bone-dry forests of drought-stricken northern California, as a small wildfire swept through a mobile home park, leaving dozens of homes in ashes and injuring at least one person.
Related: Grizzly Flats: the California town leveled by the Caldor fire – in pictures
Continue reading...Grizzly Flats: the California town leveled by the Caldor fire – in pictures
Houses were reduced to piles of ash and cars to twisted metal as the blaze rushed through the El Dorado county town
Continue reading...Caldor fire turns sky red in California and Nevada – video
The sky over parts of Nevada and California turned red and orange as the Caldor fire, which erupted over the weekend, exploded in size on Tuesday and ran through the town of Grizzly Flats, destroying many buildings and forcing residents to leave. Two were injured. Officials estimated that the blaze had blown through 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres)
- Surging wildfire tears through northern California town and threatens others
- Caldor fire levels northern California town as dry weather fuels blazes
Two people found dead in French wildfire near Saint-Tropez
As many as 1,200 firefighters and a dozen aircraft try to contain blaze in Var region
Two people have died during France’s biggest wildfire of the summer, local authorities have confirmed as the blaze continued to rage in the countryside behind Saint-Tropez.
At least one man is among the deceased, local prosecutor Patrice Camberou told the TV channel France 3. He said the other body, found in a destroyed home in the village of Grimaud, was too badly burned to identify.
Continue reading...Surging wildfire tears through northern California town and threatens others
Caldor fire explodes in size as Pacific Gas & Electric begins shutting off power to 51,000 customers
Critically dangerous fire weather was forecast across northern California from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday evening, threatening to intensify several large blazes and increasing the risk of new ones, as a small rural town in the Sierra Nevada was ravaged by a fire that grew with devastating speed.
The Caldor fire, which erupted over the weekend, exploded in size on Tuesday and ran through the town of Grizzly Flats, destroying many buildings and forcing residents to leave. Two were injured. Officials estimated that the blaze had blown through 30,000 acres – up from 6,500 acres reported by the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) earlier that day.
Continue reading...Algeria: 61 arrested after mob kills man falsely accused of starting deadly fires
The man had handed himself in to authorities, but was dragged out of a police van and set on fire
Algerian police have announced another 25 arrests over the lynching of a man falsely accused of starting deadly forest fires last week, taking the total number of suspects to 61.
The latest arrests were made in several provinces across the country, police said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the suspects were also accused of damaging public and police property.
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