Category Archives: Wildfires

Climate crisis made spate of Canada wildfires twice as likely, scientists find

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Burning of fossil fuels made fires at least twice as likely, and the fire-prone weather at least 20% more intense, study shows

The conditions that caused Canada’s extreme spate of wildfires this year, which resulted in parts of the US and Canada to be blanketed in toxic smoke, were made at least twice as likely due to the human-caused climate crisis, scientists have found.

The 2023 Canadian wildfire season has been the largest, and most devastating, on record, with nearly 14m hectares (34m acres) burned, an area larger than Greece. The extent of these fires, more than double the size of the previous record, caused more than a dozen fatalities and thousands of evacuations, and sent a plume of smoke that unfurled as far as Norway and, for a time in June, turned the sky above New York City orange.

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Eighteen bodies found in wildfire zone in north-east Greece

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Officials working to identify people found in Alexandroupolis region as firefighters battle second wave of fires

The bodies of 18 people have been found in an area of north-east Greece where firefighters are battling a major wildfire, authorities have said, as a record-breaking late summer heatwave continues to sear swathes of continental Europe.

Hundreds of firefighters were struggling on Tuesday to contain dozens of outbreaks, including several that have burned out of control for days and forced widespread evacuations, in the second deadly wave of blazes in Greece in a month.

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Canada wildfires: Trudeau deploys military to tackle blazes across British Columbia

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More than 35,000 residents under evacuation orders across province, while flames are being held at bay 15km from Yellowknife in Northwest Territories

Canada will send in armed forces to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia, prime minister Justin Trudeau has said, as more than 35,000 people were put under evacuation orders in the western province.

British Columbia imposed a state of emergency late on Friday, giving officials more power to deal with fire risks. The main fire was centered around Kelowna, a city 300km (180 miles) east of Vancouver with a population of about 150,000.

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Tenerife wildfire ‘started deliberately’ as blazes in Greece force evacuations

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Canary Islands regional president opens inquiry into fire, while people flee from four Greek villages

An out-of-control wildfire on Tenerife that has forced thousands to flee was started deliberately, authorities have said, as four more villages in Greece were evacuated in the face of another advancing blaze and more than half of mainland France was on extreme heat alert.

As much of southern Europe continues to roast after July was named the world’s hottest month on record, the Canary Islands regional president, Fernando Clavijo, said on Sunday that police had confirmed the blaze raging on the Spanish island since Tuesday had been lit intentionally, and had opened three separate lines of inquiry.

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Canada wildfires: thousands told to flee in British Columbia, as drone-flying tourists criticised

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Minister says it is a matter of life and death for residents near city of Kelowna, as drone operators warned against ‘irresponsible’ activity in fire areas

Officials in the Canadian province of British Columbia have implored tens of thousands of residents to heed warnings and evacuate from areas threatened by “severe and fast-changing” wildfires, and urged “irresponsible” wildfire tourists to stop flying drones in the area.

“We cannot stress strongly enough how critical it is to follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” Bowinn Ma, the province’s minister of emergency management, said on Saturday. “They are a matter of life and death not only for the people in those properties, but also for the first responders who will often go back to try to implore people to leave.”

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Washington state wildfire leaves one dead and nearly 200 structures destroyed

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Evacuations ordered after wind-fueled blaze expands unchecked near eastern city of Spokane and shuts highway

A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead, authorities have said.

The blaze began shortly after midday on Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, about 15 miles (24km) west of Spokane, and then expanded, state Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Isabelle Hoygaard said on Saturday.

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Canada wildfires: British Columbia in state of emergency as 19,000 flee Yellowknife fire

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Premier says days ahead will be ‘extremely challenging’, as firefighters in neighbouring Northwest Territories fight to save city

The premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency, saying authorities there were “facing the worst wildfire season ever”, as thousands were evacuated from cities east of Vancouver.

Premier David Eby said on Friday night: “Over the past 24 hours, the situation has evolved rapidly and we are in for an extremely challenging situation in the days ahead.”

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Canada fire crews battle to stop wildfire from engulfing city of Yellowknife

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Firefighters work around clock to spread retardant and dig fire breaks as thousands evacuate capital of Northwest Territories

Fire crews are working around the clock to dig fuel breaks, spread fire retardant and drop water from the air in emergency efforts to stop a vast wildfire from destroying the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT).

Teams used backhoes and bulldozers to carve out huge 100m x 15,000m fuel breaks in the surrounding forests, removing trees and brush in hopes of stopping the 1,670 sq km (644 sq mile) blaze from reaching Yellowknife.

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Yellowknife wildfire: communication issues and Facebook news ban hamper evacuation efforts

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Canada’s ongoing fight with social media company Meta and the resulting ban has led to difficulties with staying on top of information

Communication issues, fast-spreading rumours and a Facebook news ban have all disrupted evacuation efforts by residents of Yellowknife, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, as they race to leave the city before an out-of-control wildfire hits in the coming day or so.

On Wednesday night, officials told the city’s 20,000 residents they had to be out by Friday at noon (1900 BST) before a massive wildfire gets any closer.

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Head of Maui emergency agency resigns after defending not sounding sirens

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Herman Andaya’s resignation comes after the deadly blaze in Maui killed at least 111 people and razed thousands of buildings

The head of the Maui emergency management agency, who has been under fire for not activating disaster sirens during last week’s wildfire response, resigned Thursday, citing health reasons.

Richard Bissen, the Maui mayor, accepted the resignation of Herman Andaya, the county of Maui announced on Facebook.

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Wildfires in Tenerife force thousands to evacuate or stay indoors

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Worst wildfires in the Canary Islands in at least 40 years drawing closer to the capital Santa Cruz

More than 7,500 people have been evacuated or ordered to stay indoors as the worst wildfire in at least four decades ravages the Canary island of Tenerife, burning through 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of land and drawing closer to the capital, Santa Cruz.

Fernando Clavijo, the regional president of the Canaries, said more than 250 firefighters – backed by military emergency crews and 17 aircraft – were working to tackle the fire, which broke out in the north-east of the island on Tuesday and which currently has a 32km (20-mile) perimeter.

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Yellowknife wildfire: traffic clogs road out of town as residents race to evacuate

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More than 20,000 residents given until noon on Friday to leave home in face of advancing wildfire that could arrive by weekend

Long lines of traffic have clogged the only road out of the Canadian city of Yellowknife, after authorities ordered the first ever evacuation of a capital in the face of an advancing wildfire.

More than 20,000 residents – the entire population – have been given until noon on Friday to leave their homes, as water bombers flew throughout the night and authorities warned that the fire could reach the city by the weekend.

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‘Real threat to city’: Yellowknife in Canada evacuates as wildfire nears

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20,000 residents of capital of Northwest Territories ordered to leave after forecast that wildfire 11 miles away could arrive by the weekend

An evacuation order has been issued for Yellowknife in the north-west of Canada as a wildfire comes closer, with a local minister saying: “The fire now represents a real threat to the city.”

Shane Thompson, the environment and climate change minister for the Northwest Territories, said on Wednesday night that the fire could reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the weekend and was about 17km (11 miles) away.

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Joe and Jill Biden to visit fire-ravaged Hawaii as death toll hits 110

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President has faced criticism for not speaking about wildfire disaster earlier and using the wrong name when referring to Maui

Joe and Jill Biden will travel to Hawaii next week to witness the impact of wildfires that devastated the town of Lahaina, the White House said on Wednesday, as the death toll from disaster rose to 110.

Announcing the visit, which will take place on Monday, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said: “In Maui, the president and first lady will be welcomed by state and local leaders to see first-hand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort.

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‘There’s a lot to get through’: Hawaii crews comb ruins of Lahaina for missing fire victims

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At least 106 people have died – a figure set to rise significantly as workers carry out the painstaking work of identifying remains

The destruction in Lahaina stretches as far as the eye can see – homes burned down to their foundations, blackened cars, and piles of twisted metal from the fire that burned all the way to the sea. It is in these ruins that search teams will determine the true toll of the disaster.

The wildfires that ravaged Maui last week exploded rapidly, moving at roughly a mile a minute, and giving residents little time to escape as flames consumed the historic town of Lahaina. At least 106 people died – a figure expected to rise significantly in the coming days as crews scour the rubble. A massive operation is under way to find remains and identify them, and officials have asked for patience.

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As search for Hawaii fire victims continues, power company faces criticism

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So far 99 fatalities have been identified but number of dead is expected to rise as teams search devastated neighborhoods

As officials in Hawaii continue to work painstakingly to identify the 99 people confirmed killed in wildfires that ravaged Maui, a mobile morgue unit arrived to assist even as teams intensified the search for more dead in neighborhoods reduced to ash. Meanwhile, local power utility Hawaii Electric Company has been facing criticism for not shutting off power in an area at high risk for fire.

The wildfires, some of which have not yet been fully contained, are already the deadliest in the US in more than a century. Fueled through parched invasive grasses by strong winds that whipped flames across miles in mere minutes, the blaze that swept into centuries-old Lahaina last week destroyed nearly every building in the town of 13,000.

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Fire in south of France rages though campsite and 500 hectares of land

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Blaze in popular tourist area in the Pyrenees forced evacuation of 2,000 people before it was brought under control

A fire in the south of France burned through 500 hectares (1,240 acres) of land and destroyed a campsite, with 2,000 people evacuated before the blaze was brought under control on Tuesday.

The French environment minister said the climate crisis was exacerbating conditions of drought that fed the fire. No one was injured in the fire, authorities said.

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‘Time to grieve and heal’: historic Lahaina prepares to rebuild after wildfire devastation

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Residents hold on to hope for historic town that ‘represents transformation’ and is central to Indigenous culture

A week after wildfires ripped through western Maui and killed at least 99 people, residents and historians are still processing the full scope of destruction in Lahaina, an 18th-century coastal town that was, for a time, the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Designated a national historic landmark in 1962, Lahaina is a place of incalculable importance for Native Hawaiians. In 1810, King Kamehameha I unified all the Hawaiian islands and made the town his royal residence for the next three decades.

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Hawaii wildfires: deadliest US blaze in a century kills at least 93 people

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Governor says death toll in Lahaina is expected to rise after ‘worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced’

At least 93 people have died in the fire that consumed the historic town of Lahaina on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and officials warned that the effort to find and identify the dead was still in its early stages.

Meanwhile, anger at the government response to the deadliest wildfire in recent US history is mounting. Residents have raised questions over various aspects of the government response, from warnings during the inferno to aid distribution in the days since.

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Hawaii fires: fresh blaze prompts renewed evacuations as Maui death toll rises

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At least 80 people killed in deadliest disaster in the state’s history, as questions asked about the local warning system

The death toll from the Maui wildfires in Hawaii has risen to 80 as search teams comb through the smouldering ruins of Lahaina and a new fire triggered the evacuation of another community on Friday night.

The Maui police department said the new fire was burning in Kaanapali in West Maui, to the north-east of the area that burned earlier this week.

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