A record number of fires tore through Peru over the past few weeks, wreaking havoc across the country’s ecosystems as grasslands, dry forests, coastal areas, and the Amazon were set ablaze. In northern Peru, spectacled bears fled burning dry forests to nearby towns where some were shot by frightened residents. Jaguars in the southern Amazon, with nowhere to flee, were left charred on trees. Grasslands and wetlands that play a key role in storing water were left in ashes. “The rainforest is usually impervious to fire,” said Paul Rosolie, a conservationist and founder of JungleKeepers, an NGO that patrols and preserves the Amazon in Peru, adding that they’ve seen burned turtles, snakes, birds, and jaguars after recent patrols. “The forest is their world, so when you burn it, they die....
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Greece's worst fire this year amid months of drought Waterbombing aircraft battle flames on Athens' outskirts Evacuations ordered in 30 areas, power cuts in region Winds to strengthen, high fire alert through Thursday Greece's worst wildfire this year spread into the Athens suburbs on Monday, forcing hundreds of people to flee as it torched trees, homes and cars overnight and choked busy roads with smoke and ash. The government has called in help from fellow EU members to tackle the fire that is burning out of control for a second day, fanned by gale force winds that pushed it from the wooded hills north of the city. Firefighters try to extinguish a wildfire burning in Dionysos, Greece, August 12, 2024. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis Firefighters said flames, threat...
Read MoreFatima Brandao goes looking for her chickens in the backyard amidst a veil of smoke from the spreading fires that are engulfing the world's largest tropical wetland faster than ever before. "There never used to be smoke here. The sun shone clearly and the sky was always blue. Now the whole hill is on fire and smoke has clouded the entire area," she said. The Pantanal wetlands in central-western Brazil are home to a wide variety of animals, including jaguars, anacondas and giant anteaters. A drone view shows smoke from the fire rising into the air as trees burn amongst vegetation in the Pantanal, in Corumba, Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, June 11. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino A shortfall of rain this year has caused the wildfire season to start earlier and become more intense th...
Read MoreTourists at a seaside hotel on the Greek island of Rhodes snatched up pails of pool water and damp towels as flames approached, rushing to help staffers and locals extinguish one of the wildfires threatening Mediterranean locales during recent heat waves. The quick team effort meant that “by the time the fire brigade came, most of the fire actually was dealt with,” said Elena Korosteleva from Britain, who was vacationing at the Lindos Memories hotel. The next morning, some unsettled guests cut their holiday short — but most stayed on as the resort wasn’t damaged in the small brush fire outside its grounds. The Greek island known for sparkling beaches and ancient sites is nursing its wounds after 11 days of devastating wildfires in July. After thousands of people were evacuate...
Read MoreThousands of tourists and residents fleeing a wildfire on the Greek island of Rhodes huddled in schools and shelters on Sunday, with many evacuated on private boats from beaches as flames menaced resorts and coastal villages. Thousands spent the night on beaches and streets. Tour operators Jet2, TUI and Correndon cancelled flights departing for Rhodes, which lies southeast of mainland Greece and is popular for its warm seas and ancient sites. Photo: REUTERS/Lefteris Damianidis The fire brigade said 19,000 people were moved from homes and hotels, calling it the biggest safe transport of residents and tourists Greece has carried out. "It was literally like the end of the world," British tourist Ian Murison told Sky News from a rescue boat he got after crowds filled buses in a...
Read MoreIn the southern Chilean city of Santa Juana, hit hard by wildfires earlier this year, locals have a special taskforce helping fight blazes: a herd of goats. The goats have already saved the native forest of the Bosques de Chacay once, preventing the park from being consumed by February forest fires - fueled by heatwaves and a punishing drought - that left dozens dead, thousands injured and almost 440,000 hectares destroyed in south-central Chile. Rocio Cruces, founder of the "Buena Cabra" (Good Goat) project, an initiative that relies on goats to control dry pastures and other vegetation that fuel forest fires in the summer, feeds goats at her stable in a forest in Santa Juana, Chile, May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Juan Gonzalez "The park was surrounded by fires, but it ended up being the...
Read MoreBritain shattered its record for highest temperature ever registered Tuesday amid a heat wave that has seared swaths of Europe, as the U.K.’s national weather forecaster said such highs are now a fact of life in a country ill-prepared for such extremes. The typically temperate nation was just the latest to be walloped by unusually hot, dry weather that has triggered wildfires from Portugal to the Balkans and led to hundreds of heat-related deaths. Images of flames racing toward a French beach and Britons sweltering — even at the seaside — have driven home concerns about climate change. A man shields his eyes from the sun as he sunbathes backdropped by Tower Bridge in London, Tuesday July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks) The U.K. Met Office weather agency registered a provisional r...
Read MoreFires rage in France and Spain, UK gets first ever red ‘extreme heat’ warning Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe. More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement. A view of trees burning amid a wildfire near Landiras, France, July 13, 2022 in this picture obtained from the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33). SDIS 33/Handout via REUTERS "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect fo...
Read MoreA wildfire threatening the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size in a day, and firefighters were working in difficult terrain Sunday to protect the iconic trees and a small mountain town as the U.S. weathers another very active year for fires. Campers and residents near the blaze were evacuated but the rest of the sprawling park in California remained open, though heavy smoke obscured scenic vistas and created unhealthy air quality. “Today it’s actually the smokiest that we’ve seen,” Nancy Phillipe, a Yosemite fire information spokesperson, said Sunday. “Up until this morning, the park has not been in that unhealthy category, but that is where we are now.” A firefighter protects a sequoia tree as the Washburn Fire burns in Mariposa Gr...
Read MoreFirefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year. The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora where over 25,000 hectares (61,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents of three villages near Berlin were ordered to leave their homes because of an approaching wildfire Sunday. Spanish authorities said that after three days of high temperatures, high winds and low humidity, some respite came with dropping temperatures Sunday morning. That allowed for about 650 firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft to establish a perimeter around the fire that started in Zamora’s Sierra de la Culebra. Authorities warned...
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