Category Archives: Wildfires

Wildfires are getting deadlier and costing more. Experts warn they’re becoming unstoppable

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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.

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Wildfire in Namibia is contained, says PM, after criticism of response

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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.

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Namibia deploys army to fight wildfire burning third of Etosha game reserve

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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.

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Maui officials knocked on doors to warn residents before wildfire threat receded

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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.

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Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds

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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.

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Fast-moving wildfire destroys multiple structures in historic California Gold Rush town

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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.

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Climate change kills, Spanish PM tells deniers at launch of plan to tackle crisis

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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.

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Wildfires in California and Oregon destroy homes and prompt thousands of evacuations

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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.

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Heatwave that fuelled deadly wildfires was Spain’s ‘most intense on record’

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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.

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‘Pray for rain’: wildfires in Canada are now burning where they never used to

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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.

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Thousands evacuated in Spain amid deadly wildfires and new heatwave

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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.

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Colorado deploys more than 1,000 firefighters to battle two huge blazes

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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.

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Canada wildfire season already second worst on record as experts warn of ‘new reality’

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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).

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Southern Europe swelters under deadly heatwave as temperatures pass 40C

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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.

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Colorado prison evacuated as wildfire becomes one of largest in state history

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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.

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‘Unprecedented’ wildfire burns area size of Paris in southern France

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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.

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Canada wildfires: 81 million Americans under air quality alerts as blazes rage

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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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Canada wildfires prompt severe air quality alerts across country and US

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More than 700 active wildfires burning across Canada and about two-thirds are currently out-of-control

Billowing smoke from hundreds of out-of-control wildfires – most of which are in the Canadian Prairies – have caused severe air quality alerts across Canada and the United States.

Detroit, Michigan, and the Canadian cities of Montreal and Toronto, recorded some of the worst air quality in the world on Monday, according to a ranking by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company.

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Thousands in Greece and Turkey evacuate as winds and heat fan wildfires

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Czech firefighters and Italian aircraft join rescue effort in Greece, and firefighter among those killed in Turkey

Thousands of people in Greece and Turkey have been forced to evacuate homes as firefighters in the countries battled to contain wildfires fanned by strong winds and searing heat.

As temperatures in south-eastern Europe exceeded 40C for a seventh straight day, the Greek prime minister praised rescue workers for waging “a titanic battle” to bring blazes under control.

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Wildfire burns through northern suburb of Athens as residents told to evacuate

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People in Kryoneri, north-east of the Greek capital, receive SMS messages telling them to get to safe areas

A wildfire burned through a northern suburb of the Greek capital of Athens on Saturday and some residents were ordered to evacuate, the country’s fire service reported.

Residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5 miles (20km) north-east of Athens, received three SMS messages to evacuate to safe areas, fire service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakoyannis told reporters.

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