Wildfires ravage popular tourist island of Maui A wildfire that swept through the picturesque resort town of Lahaina on Hawaii's Maui island has killed at least 36 people, authorities said, leaving smoldering ruins in its wake and forcing thousands to flee the devastation. Video footage showed neighborhoods and businesses razed and vehicles burnt to a crisp across the western side of the island as the wildfires cut off most roads out of Lahaina, the largest tourist destination on Maui and home to multiple large hotels. Smoke billows from flames near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, August 9. Dustin Johnson via REUTERS The fire took the island by surprise, leaving behind burned-out cars on once busy streets ...
Read MoreTag: wildfires
Canada is on track for its worst-ever year of wildfire destruction as warm and dry conditions are forecast to persist through to the end of the summer after an unprecedented start to the fire season, officials said on Monday. Blazes are burning in nearly all Canadian provinces and territories, and federal government officials said their modeling shows increased wildfire risk in most of Canada through August. Smoke billows upwards from a planned ignition by firefighters tackling the Donnie Creek Complex wildfire south of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada June 3, 2023. B.C. Wildfire Service/Handout via REUTERS. "The distribution of fires from coast to coast this year is unusual. At this time of the year, fires usually occur only on one side of the country at a time, most often ...
Read MoreA week of record hot weather in western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia. By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta, as 78 fires burned. Among the worst-hit areas was the territory of the Little Red River Cree Nation, which comprises three communities in the north of the province, where the 1,458-hectare (3609-acre) Fox Lake fire consumed 20 homes and the police station. The entire 7,000-strong population of Drayton Valley, 140 km (87 miles) west of the provincial capital Edmonton, was also ordered to evacuate late on Thursday night. A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta, Canada May ...
Read MoreChilean wildfires destroy hundreds of homes, endanger world's smallest deer As his parents fought wildfires threatening their home in southern Chile, 13-year-old Lucas Cespedes decided to take action, ferrying firefighters across the local river in a small yellow rowing boat to help them put out the flames. The Andean country is battling some of the worst wildfires in years that have claimed 24 lives and burned through over 340,000 hectares (840,158 acres), affecting more than 5,400 people, destroying over a thousand homes and burning up the habitats of vulnerable woodland animals. Lucas Cespedes, 13, rows his boat during an interview with Reuters, close to his house on the shores of the river Futa, on the outskirts of Valdivia, Chile February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Cristobal Saavedra ...
Read MoreA number of Easter Island’s iconic ‘Moai’ stone statues suffered irreparable damage after a wildfire swept through the island earlier this week, the island’s mayor told Reuters on Friday. “It’s unquantifiable, unmeasurable, the damage there is, it’s irrecoverable,” said Pedro Edmunds, mayor of Easter Island, a territory of Chile. “Because what the fire does is heat the rock and the rock cracks.” He said scientists are going to visit the island alongside park administrators to evaluate the extent of the damage and determine what can be done. “I don’t know if there’s a solution for this,” Edmunds said. A preliminary report released by Chile’s culture, arts and heritage ministry stated that a wildfire that started on Tuesday swept through more than 60 hectares (148.26 acres) ...
Read MoreSouthern Europe battles wildfires as heatwave spreads north A heatwave sweeping southern Europe that has caused hundreds of deaths and huge wildfires showed some signs of abating on Monday but continued to move north, including towards Britain where authorities issued an extreme weather warning. Much of Europe is baking in a heatwave that scientists say is consistent with climate change and has pushed temperatures into the mid-40s Celsius (over 110 Fahrenheit) in some regions, with wildfires raging across tinder-dry countryside in Portugal, Spain and France. This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33) shows firefighters fighting wildfire near Landiras, southwestern France, Sunday July 17, 2022 . (SDIS 33 via AP) Temperatures in some parts of souther...
Read MoreMulti-million dollar resorts and California mansions up in flames Wildfires edged towards mountain resort towns in northern New Mexico on Thursday and engulfed an enclave of multi-million-dollar mansions in southern California. Residents of around 900 houses were under evacuation in coastal California and one firefighter was injured when a wildfire fire torched about 200 acres (81 hectares) in Laguna Niguel on Wednesday, Orange County officials said. Smoke from a wildfire rises above a residential area in Laguna Niguel, Orange County, California, U.S. May 11, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. Tim Wheaton/via REUTERS In New Mexico, meanwhile, more than 300 homes and other buildings have been destroyed in wildfires burning since early last month. As westerly winds...
Read MoreNew analysis confirms a palpable change in fire dynamics already suspected by many Fires have gotten larger, more frequent and more widespread across the United States since 2000, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder-led paper. Recent wildfires have stoked concern that climate change is causing more extreme events, and the work published today in Science Advances shows that large fires have not only become more common, they are also spreading into new areas, impacting land that previously did not burn. “Projected changes in climate, fuel and ignitions suggest that we’ll see more and larger fires in the future. Our analyses show that those changes are already happening,” said Virginia Iglesias, a research scientist with CU Boulder’s Earth Lab and lead author of the paper...
Read MoreWildfires in Argentina's north are forcing local species of wildlife including capybaras, marsh deer and anteaters to attempt to flee ahead of the flames, with many animals killed or injured while trying to escape as the fires spread. The blazes in Corrientes province, which borders Paraguay, have burned through nearly 900,000 hectares of forest and pasture land, some 12% of the region, including destroying habitats in the biodiverse Iberá Park wetlands. A capybara injured during a wildfire receives treatment by a veterinary at the Aguara Conservation Center in Paso de la Patria, province of Corrientes, Argentina February 23, 2022. REUTERS/Matias Baglietto "There are sectors of the Iberá where animals have been trapped," said Sofía Heinonen, executive director of Rewilding Argent...
Read MoreIndonesia's peatlands, California's forests, and, now, vast swathes of Argentine wetland have all been ravaged by extreme wildfires, heralding a fiery future and the dire need to prevent it. With climate change triggering droughts and farmers clearing forests, the number of extreme wildfires is expected to increase 30% within the next 28 years. And they are now scorching environments that were not prone to burning in the past, such as the Arctic's tundra and the Amazon rainforest. FILE PHOTO: A house is fully engulfed by flames at the Dixie Fire, a wildfire near the town of Greenville, California, U.S. August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves "We've seen a great increase in recent fires in northern Syria, northern Siberia, the eastern side of Australia, and India," said Australian go...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.