Category Archives: Forest Fires

Forest Fires

Reported wildfires between Kamloops and Falkland believed to be ‘human caused’

By Aaron Schulze
CFJC Today Kamloops
May 3, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

KAMLOOPS — BC Wildfire Service say they responded numerous wildfires between Falkland and Kamloops Monday (May 2). In a social media post Monday evening, the wildfire suppression service for the province states the fires are all suspected to be human caused. The fires are under investigation. “The BC Wildfire Service is urging British Columbians to be responsible, remain cautious, and do what they can to prevent human-caused wildfires,” the service states. According to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard as of Tuesday morning, there are 10 active wildfires within the Kamloops Fire Centre: three new, two being held, and five under control. Two new wildfires were reported between Falkland and Kamloops: a 0.10-hectare fire near Station Forest Service Road north of Westwold and a 0.01-hectare wildfire near 2km Talbot Forest Service Road south of Westwold.

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Pair of small wildfires ignite in Kamloops Fire Centre

By Brendan Shykora
Vernon Morning Star
April 30, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Two new but small wildfires are burning in the Thompson Okanagan region Saturday.  According to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), one fire sparked near Ashcroft and another ignited at Drought Creek and Highway 97C near Peachland April 30.  Both fires are less than 0.01 hectares in size and suspected as being human caused.  BCWS fire information officer Shaelee Stearns said Saturday afternoon that it’s not known whether either fire has grown since being discovered earlier in the day.  On Thursday a larger wildfire sparked in the North Shuswap near St. Ives. As of Friday that blaze had grown to 15 hectares and it’s still classified as out of control. Stearns said there has been no significant growth overnight, and there are still 20 BCWS personnel tackling the blaze. She said a helicopter crew may be on site today to transport gear to the top of the fire.

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Wildfire season gets early start in northwest B.C.

By Joseph Ruttle
Vancouver Sun
April 19, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

Crews were called out for two weekend fires in an early start to wildfire season in northwest B.C.  The B.C. Wildfire Service said the two fires were in the area of the village of Kitwanga.  One is now out.  The other is under control. That wildfire is about 160,000 square metres in size and was tackled by 10 firefighters with helicopter support for water bucketing over the weekend. Two crew members remain at the fire Tuesday to patrol and remove gear.  Despite dry conditions in northwest B.C., the wildfire service said there are no other fires of concern among 12 active wildfires larger than 100 square metres.  “The conditions are very typical for this time of year,” said spokeswoman Carolyn Bartos. She said human-caused wildfires related to backyard burning and grass burning are the leading cause of early-season fires.

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Yes, we can save B.C. from the worst wildfires — here’s how

By Lori Daniels, Kira Hoffman and Robert Gray
North Shore News
November 5, 2021
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada West

COP26, the United Nations 26th conference on climate change, follows hot on the heels of yet another catastrophic wildfire season in British Columbia. …Once again, the cost of direct fire suppression exceeded half a billion dollars and total fire costs, including substantial business losses, infrastructure damage, and long-term physical and emotional health impacts, will run into the billions of dollars. By 2030, record-breaking years like 2017, 2018 and 2021 will be typical, and future extremes may be even worse.  Our rapidly changing climate drives this crisis, but it is equally fuelled by a century of outdated forest and fire management practices.  …Today, B.C.’s landscape is filled with flammable fuel — living and dead plant biomass — measured in the billions of tonnes. Much of this fuel is slash — the logs, branches and stumps left over from forest harvest. …Slash is most effectively reduced by broadcast burning — a low-intensity prescribed fire across an area that consumes the most-hazardous flammable fuels.

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Nova Scotia Welcomes Forest Fire Aid from Newfoundland and Labrador

By Natural Resources and Renewables
The Government of Nova Scotia
May 10, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

A CL-415 water bomber is on its way from Newfoundland and Labrador to help Nova Scotia’s ground and air crews fight an out-of-control wildfire near Horseshoe Lake, Yarmouth County. The fire is estimated to cover about 350 hectares and continues to grow. Winds and low humidity are factors in the spread of the fire. Smoke has prompted air quality alerts for the Yarmouth area. Assistance was requested through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Nova Scotia is a member of a mutual aid and resource-sharing agreement which ensures all provinces and territories will receive help fighting forest fires when needed.

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Forest fire in western Quebec under control

CBC News
May 9, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: Canada, Canada East

Firefighters say they’ve brought a forest fire near the border between the Outaouais and the Laurentians under control.  The flames had spread through an eight-hectare wooded area west of Route 309, between Notre-Dame-du-Laus and Val-des-Bois, Que.  The Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU) said it discovered the fire by chance Friday around noon, when some of its employees were flying over the area.  The fire, which at its peak affected an area roughly the size of 15 American football fields, was considered under control by 8 a.m. Saturday.   A SOPFEU spokesperson told Radio-Canada it may have been started by residents burning trash.

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US wildfire season activity remains above seasonal norms

The National Interagency Fire Center
May 5, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States

The US National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported that the 2022 wildfire season activity remains above seasonal norms. The NIFC offers this simple comparison as an example: Year-to-date 22,693 wildfires reported burning 1,264,214 acres; Year-to-date 19,459 wildfires reported burning 527,025 acres; and 10-year average (2012–2021) is 16,609 wildfires and 711,666 acres. The NIFC reports that 1 new wildfire was burning in Colorado. Nationally, nearly 3,400 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to 10 large fires. The Southwest area continues to have the largest fire activity, where five incident management teams are assigned. There are currently 10 large and active wildfires burning across 293,222 acres in the U.S. There are 6 in New Mexico, 2 in Arizona, and 1 each in Colorado and Texas. As of this time only 1 of the 10 fires have some containment.

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Wildfire map: Track where fires are burning in Arizona in 2022

AZCentral
April 20, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States

Arizona’s wildfire season, which got off to an early start this year, could be even more catastrophic in 2022 than in previous years, fire officials have said. Arizona lost over 500,000 acres to wildfires in 2021 and over 900,000 acres in 2020, Gov. Doug Ducey said earlier this year. Reports have predicted most of the Southwest will have an above-normal potential for fires in May and June, though wetter periods between September through December helped lower fire potential for certain areas. In Arizona, though, the risk for significant fire potential arrived earlier, beginning in March. A map of fires that are actively burning in Arizona, is compiled by the wildfire tracking website InciWeb, operated by the U.S. Forest Service. 

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‘No good place to stop it’: More people flee New Mexico wildfire

By Andrew Hay and Adria Malcolm
Reuters
May 10, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

TAOS, N.M. – The United States’ largest active wildfire bore down on New Mexico mountain villages on Tuesday, triggering evacuations in another county as firefighters saw no way to stop the blaze. Driven by gusting winds the fire reached a highway that is the only way out of the village of Chacon where some people have stayed to defend homes, according to Mora County Under Sheriff Americk Padilla. …”There’s no good place with the fire behavior and the wind we’ve been having to stop it anywhere in here, so we’re going to have to protect all these homes as we go to the north,” Todd Abel, a battalion chief with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, told a briefing. …Hundreds of homes and other structures have been destroyed by the fire and about 12,000 households have been told to evacuate, with fears some centuries-old communities will never recover.

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Fire crews close in around massive New Mexico wildfire

Associated Press in The Times and Democrat
May 5, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

LAS VEGAS, New Mexico  — Firefighters in New Mexico took advantage of diminished winds Thursday to build more fire lines and clear combustible brush near homes close to the fringes of the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. They did so ahead of what is expected to be several consecutive days of intense hot, dry and extremely windy weather that could fan the blaze. “Today, the conditions were kind of moderated,” Dan Pearson, a fire behavior analyst, said during a largely hopeful evening update by the U.S. Forest Service and law enforcement officials. “And tomorrow is going to be another good day.” But Pearson warned that starting Saturday, clear skies will bring more intense solar heat accompanied by 30 mph winds with days of high winds to follow.

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President declares disaster in New Mexico wildfire zone

By Cedar Attanasio and Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press in the Washington Post
May 4, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

LAS VEGAS, New Mexico — Firefighters slowed the advance of the largest wildfire in the U.S. as heavy winds relented Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new financial resources to remote stretches of New Mexico devastated by fire since early April. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez announced the presidential disaster declaration during an evening briefing by the U.S. Forest Service about efforts to contain the sprawling wildfire in northeastern New Mexico, which has fanned out across 250 square miles of high alpine forest and grasslands at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains. …An estimated 15,500 homes in outlying areas and in the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that border Las Vegas have been affected by mandatory evacuations. The tally of homes destroyed by the fire stands around 170.

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New Mexico governor seeking US disaster status for wildfire

By Cedar Attanasio and Susan Montoya Bryan
The Associated Press
May 3, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Michelle Lujan Grisham

LAS VEGAS, New Mexico — New Mexico’s governor asked President Joe Biden to declare a disaster as firefighters scrambled to clear brush, build fire lines and spray water to keep the largest blaze burning in the U.S. from destroying more homes in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a request for a presidential disaster declaration that will be sent to the White House in hopes of freeing up financial assistance for recovery efforts. …Fire managers said the spread slowed a bit on Tuesday, and put the amount of newly charred land up slightly, to about 231 square miles of mountainsides, towering ponderosa pines and meadows. …Officials have reported about 170 homes destroyed, about 15,500 homes under mandatory evacuation and said the state’s psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas remained evacuated. 

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Bulldozers, aircraft used to fight fire near New Mexico city

By Paul Davenport
Associated Press in the Daily News
April 30, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Over 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the U.S. on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a small city in northern New Mexico. Preliminary overnight mapping imagery indicated that the fire that has burned at least 166 homes grew in size from 103 square miles (266 square kilometers) Friday to 152 square miles (393 square kilometers) by early Saturday, officials said. Ash carried 7 miles (11 kilometers) through the air fell on Las Vegas, population about 13,000, and firefighters were trying to prevent the blaze from getting closer, said Mike Johnson, a spokesman for the fire management team. Calmer winds on Satuday were aiding the firefighting effort after gusts accelerated the fire’s advance to a point on Friday when “we were watching the fire march about a mile every hour,” said Jayson Coil, a fire operations official.

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Historic Arizona landmark wrapped in ‘foil’ in effort to save it from Crooks wildfire

By Nicole Grigg and Ashley Loose
ABC 15 Arizona
April 29, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

A historic landmark in the Prescott National Forest was wrapped with a heat-resistant foil this week to protect it from an Arizona wildfire. As of Friday, a forest official said the Crooks Fire hasn’t moved closer to the Palace Station Historic Stagecoach Stop Cabin in a couple of days, which is good news for the historic landmark. The wildland firefighters were able to wrap the entire wooden structure with a tinfoil-like material. Along with wrapping the Palace Station, firefighters worked on creating defensible space around the cabin by clearing brush and vegetation in the area. In a community meeting Thursday night, forest officials spoke about protecting Palace Station as it is their responsibility to protect it.

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More evacuations expected near dangerous Southwest New Mexico wildfires

By Morgan Lee and Cedar Attanasio
Associated Press in ABC News
April 29, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

SANTA FE, N.M. — Thousands of firefighters battled destructive wildfires in the Southwest as more residents prepared to evacuate Friday into the weekend in northern New Mexico where strong winds and dangerously dry conditions have made the blazes hard to contain. The biggest fire in the U.S. grew to more than 117 square miles through the afternoon northeast of Santa Fe. Gusty winds prevented any aerial attacks by midmorning and crews lost some of the containment they had established in previous days. The rapid rate of the spread of the fire was exceeding dire predictions in some areas, incident commander Carl Schwope said Friday night. “We’re in a very dangerous situation. Evacuation statuses are changing as we speak,” he warned at a briefing in Las Vegas, New Mexico, about 50 miles east of Santa Fe.

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Southwest wildfire outlook grim as flames char New Mexico

By Susan Montoya Bryan
Associated Press in the Durango Herald
April 25, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

ALBUQUERQUE – Bulldozers were busy Monday scraping through New Mexico’s high country as firefighters scouted more rugged terrain, looking for places where they could wield tools to dig lines that stop what has grown into the largest wildfire burning in the U.S.  Nearly a dozen new large fires were reported over the weekend across the nation – four in New Mexico, three in Colorado and one each in Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota and Texas. With more than 1,350 square miles burned so far this year, officials at the National Interagency Fire Center said the amount of land singed so far is outpacing the 10-year average by about 30%.  …In northern New Mexico, evacuations remained in place for several communities Monday and conditions were still too volatile for authorities to assess the damage caused Friday and Saturday as fierce winds pushed flames across tinder-dry mountainsides in multiple counties.

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Over 12 wildfires are burning in Arizona and New Mexico

The Associated Press in National Public Radio
April 23, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

…Over a dozen sizable fires were burning in Arizona and New Mexico, destroying dozens of homes and as of Saturday burning more than 174 square miles (451 square kilometers).   Winds that howled Friday remained a concern on Saturday in northern New Mexico where two fires merged and quadrupled in size to a combined 66 square miles (171 square kilometers) in mountains and grassland northwest of Las Vegas.  The merged fires burned some structures but no figures were available, said fire information officer Mike Johnson. “They were able to save some structures and we know we lost other structures that we weren’t able to defend.”  …Elsewhere in the region, the fire danger in the Denver area on Friday was the highest it had been in over a decade, according to the National Weather Service, because of unseasonable temperatures in the 80s combined with strong winds and very dry conditions.

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Wind keeps pushing Tunnel Fire across northern Arizona wildland

KTAR News
April 21, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

PHOENIX – Hundreds of people northeast of Flagstaff remain evacuated from their homes as the Tunnel Fire pushed further forward by thousands of acres. The wildfire grew to nearly 20,200 acres by late Thursday, as wind continued to whip flames across the area and away from northern Arizona’s largest city. Coconino County officials said 30 structures have gone up in flames. …Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency Thursday to increase resources for dealing with the destructive blaze. Residents around Flagstaff questioned how a small blaze … ballooned to such an extent by Wednesday afternoon. Matt McGrath, a district ranger at Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didn’t see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday. By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames jumped the containment line, leaving firefighters and McGrath to ask themselves if they could have done something differently

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Wind will be a force to reckon with on Southwest wildfires

The Associated Press in National Public Radio
April 21, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — Fire managers across the Southwest are reckoning with strong winds that forecasters say could lead to explosive growth in wildfires this week. Hundreds of people were evacuated in numerous blazes that have scorched structures and signaled an early start to the fire season. A wildfire on the outskirts of Flagstaff continued its run Wednesday though dry grass and scattered Ponderosa pines around homes into volcanic cinder fields, where roots underground can combust and send small rocks flying into the air, fire officials said. …Winds are expected to ramp up Thursday after easing up a bit Wednesday. Friday has a chance of precipitation but even stronger winds followed by a dry forecast into next week. …”Folks, we have entered our fire season,” he said. “It’s going to be a long one this year.

Additional Coverage: Arizona wildfire triples in size, sending hundreds of families fleeing

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Nearly 800 homes, 1,000 animals evacuated from Tunnel Fire in Arizona

By Julia Jacobo
ABC News
April 20, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Dangerous fire conditions are creating the perfect fuel for wildfires to scorch through the arid landscapes of the Southwest. The Tunnel Fire, which sparked Sunday about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona, exploded to more than 16,000 acres by Wednesday morning, destroying at least 25 structures, according to Coconino County officials. More than 200 firefighters are battling the fast-moving inferno, which is currently 0% contained. An additional 250 structures are threatened, which has prompted evacuations of nearly 800 homes and 1,000 animals in the area. While the Red Cross has opened a shelter at a local middle school, the Fort Tuthill County Stables has been opened for horses, goats, sheep, pigs and chickens that reside in the evacuation zone, according to the county. …The Southwest is experiencing the driest conditions in at least 1,200 years, a study published in Nature Climate Change in February found.

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100s of homes evacuated as fast-moving wildfire tears through northern Arizona

Associated Press in CBC News
April 19, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

At least two dozen structures have been destroyed in a fast-moving wildfire in rural northern Arizona that ballooned to nearly 25 square kilometres Tuesday, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll said during a news conference.  The county declared an emergency Tuesday as winds whipped the flames, shut down a major highway and grounded aircraft that could drop water and fire retardant. County officials said 766 homes and 1,000 animals have been evacuated from the area.  A couple of hundred homes along U.S. 89, north of Flagstaff, were evacuated as embers jumped ahead of the main blaze and smoke billowed into the air in an all-too-familiar scene. …Firefighters on Tuesday were up against 80 kilometre per hour gusts that pushed the wildfire over the highway and weren’t expected to let up much this week, authorities said.

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Destructive wildfires rage in New Mexico, Colorado

By Susan Montoya Bryan and Paul Davenport
Associated Press in ABC News
April 14, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken mountainsides around a New Mexico village as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools. Homes were among the structures that had burned, but officials on Wednesday did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest. Rabon announced emergency evacuations of a more densely populated area during a briefing Wednesday afternoon as the fire jumped a road where crews were trying to hold the line. She told people to get in their cars and go. …[With] no precipitation and love humidity levels …stopping the flames will be difficult.

 

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Cal Fire burn pile escaped control, sparked Flanagan Fire

By Nada Atieh
Redding Record Searchlight
March 4, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

Firefighters battled a vegetation fire that threatened homes north of Redding and prompted evacuations Friday afternoon.  The Flanagan Fire was burning in the area of Walker Mine Road west of Lake Boulevard. Firefighters are making progress in bringing the fire under control.  …A burn pile that was lit by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection escaped control and sparked Friday’s Flanagan Fire, officials said Saturday.  Cal Fire spokesperson Jennifer Shaw said she had no other information.  The fire was reported about 10:30 a.m. Friday in the area of Walker Mine Road and Flanagan Road west of the city of Shasta Lake.  Driven by wind and dry conditions, the fire grew and prompted the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office to order residents who live in the area to evacuate.

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Another blaze ignites in Orange County as Jim fire tops 550 acres

By Hayley Smith
Los Angeles Times
March 3, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

A second wildfire ignited Thursday in the Cleveland National Forest, where crews were already working to control the Jim fire burning near the Riverside-Orange County line. The San Juan fire sparked around 12:15 p.m. off State Route 74 near Sievers Canyon and grew to an estimated 9 acres before forward progress was stopped, officials said. Containment was at 90% as of Thursday evening. The two fires were feeding on sunbaked vegetation that has seen little rain since the start of the year and could offer a grim preview of what the 2022 wildfire season may have in store. …The two blazes could spell trouble for the fire season ahead. A record-dry start to the year in California, coupled with extreme temperature swings, is priming the landscape to burn. …Though January and February are typically the heart of the wet season in California, the two-month stretch this year was the driest ever recorded in most of California.

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Wildfire along California’s Big Sur forces evacuations

Associated Press in The Times and Democrat
January 23, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

BIG SUR, Calif. — Firefighters on Saturday were battling a wildfire that broke out in the rugged mountains along Big Sur, forcing hundreds of residents on this precarious stretch of the California coast to evacuate and authorities to shut its main roadway. The fire started Friday night in a steep canyon and quickly spread toward the sea, fanned by strong winds up to 50 mph (80 kph). The blaze burned at least 2.3 square miles (6 square kilometers) of brush and redwood trees, said Cecile Juliette, a spokesperson for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. “The fire lined up with the wind and the terrain and that gave the fire a lot of energy to make a big run,” she said Saturday. Authorities made contact with about 500 residents, urging them to evacuate the sparsely populated area between Carmel and Big Sur.

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Wildfire burning west of Idaho Springs 50% contained

By Alexia Carrasco
9News.com
December 5, 2021
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo — A fire burning in the Miners Candle area of Clear Creek County Sunday is now 50% contained, according to the Clear Creek County Office of Emergency Management (OEM).  The fire, which has been named the Miners Candle Fire, was first reported Sunday morning. According to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, it started in the 700 block of Miners Candle Road at a home that was occupied, and quickly spread to another home that was vacant. Both of the structures are destroyed, according to officials. No injuries were reported. The 20-acre fire quickly spread due to high winds in the area. The sheriff’s office said 20-25 homes in the Miners Candle, Trail Creek, Sunny Skies Trail Creek and Lamartine areas have been evacuated.

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Thousands without power in Southern California as fierce winds fuel potential wildfire threat for 17 million people

By Aya Elamroussi
CNN
November 26, 2021
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US West

More than 70,000 homes and businesses in Southern California lost power on Thanksgiving as the region battles dangerously dry conditions and high winds, with gusts topping 70 mph in some areas. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for parts of multiple counties, including San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura — collectively affecting more than 17 million people through Friday afternoon. …CalFire said it has increased the number of fire engines and other resources ahead of the elevated fire weather, which could remain in the region through Saturday, according to CNN meteorologist Rob Shackelford. …The state’s wildfire season has been devastating so far this year with 8,367 blazes having scorched more than 3 million acres, according to CalFire. The fires have been exacerbated by climate change creating hotter and drier conditions.

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Wildfire ravages Pisgah National Forest near the Blue Ridge Parkway

By Brayden Stamps
WJBF News Channel 6
April 30, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

PISGAH FOREST, N.C. — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the wildfire ravaging Pisgah National Forest is “50% contained.” The “Barnett Branch Fire,” as the USDA calls it, began to burn on Wednesday in the rough terrain of the Pisgah National Forest just off of the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Pisgah Inn. The USDA estimates that the wildfire is at about 370 acres of impact area now that it’s 50% contained. The USDA reports that the fire has grown in size since Friday. “This is due to burnout operations in which firefighters remove the fuels between the containment lines and the fire’s edge to control the intensity of the fire and secure containment lines,” said the USDA. Some parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway were closed due to the wildfire.
Now the span from Highway-276 to the Pisgah Inn has reopened.

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Crews battle wind-driven wildfires in western North Carolina

Associated Press in WITN News
March 27, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

BRYSON CITY, N.C. – Authorities say wind-driven wildfires in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park have burned hundreds of acres in western North Carolina and forced the evacuation of several homes. The fires also prompted officials to close several trails and backcountry campsites in the nation’s most-visited national park. The park covers more than 520,000 acres straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. Crews from the National Park Service, North Carolina Forest Service, Bryson City Fire Department and Bureau of Indian Affairs were working to contain the fires. Officials said both fires were started from power lines knocked down by high winds and were estimated to be 10% contained as of late Saturday night.

 

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Firefighters gain ground on Texas wildfires on Saturday

Associated Press in the Washington Post
March 19, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

EASTLAND, Texas — Fire crews in Texas made progress Saturday against a massive complex of wildfires that have killed a deputy sheriff and burned at least 50 homes, officials said. “Progress has been made, but fire activity has picked up with rising temperatures and lower humidity,” said Matt Ford, spokesperson for Texas A&M Forest Services. He said about 25% of the flames were contained, up from about 4% late Friday as the fire burned thick brush and grass fields. The fires had burned about 130 square miles (330 square kilometers), including about 70 square miles (185 square kilometers) in the Eastland Complex, according to the agency. That area is around 120 miles west of Dallas. Gusty winds were expected to return Sunday, again raising the wildfire threat to critical levels.

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Wildfire Burns More Than 1,000 Acres Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks

By Meghan Overdeep
Southern Living
March 10, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

A wildfire has been burning in Eastern North Carolina since Tuesday, blanketing parts of the Outer Banks in thick smoke. The fire swelled to 1,060 acres by Thursday morning and is currently 65% contained, according to the most recent update from the North Carolina Forest Service. The Roanoke Island Volunteer Fire Department took to Facebook Tuesday with news that that a fire had broken out at the Dare County Bombing Range, a training facility for military aircraft crews located southwest of Roanoke Island. North Carolina’s US Fish & Wildlife Services shared that the blaze is located in the northern section of the bombing range, with some spillover into Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, home to black bears and the only red wolves left in the wild. Fortunately, by Tuesday afternoon, NC Forest Service Incident Commander John C Cook states that things were “looking better.” Damage to the wildlife refuge has not been reported.

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Severe Weather Helps Contain Florida Wildfires

By Derrick Bryson Taylor
The New York Times
March 9, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

A series of severe storms and substantial rainfall on Wednesday helped firefighters in the Florida Panhandle in their efforts to contain wildfires that are threatening nearby communities, officials said. Several inches of rain fell across the region, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas west of Tallahassee, near the wildfires, saw more than four inches of rain. Lower amounts were recorded in other surrounding areas. The blazes, which are collectively called the Chipola Complex had burned more than 34,000 acres by Wednesday evening. They are being fed by dead trees and other vegetation left by Hurricane Michael in 2018, fire officials said. “This is a living, breathing beast,” Brad Monroe, the chief of emergency services in Bay County, said Tuesday during a news conference. “When it produces its own weather, you see lightning strikes within a fire on a bright sunny day, it’s incredible. Words cannot describe it.”

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Fire forces evacuation of 100s of homes in Florida Panhandle

Associated Press in The Longview Daily News
March 5, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

PANAMA CITY, Fla.  — Residents of hundreds of Florida Panhandle homes were evacuated as a wildfire destroyed two houses and damaged 12 others in an area that has spent years recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Michael, officials said Saturday. Hundreds of thousands of acres (hectares) of downed trees from the 2018 hurricane, along with low humidity and strong winds, have created “the perfect storm” for hazardous fire conditions in Bay County, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City. “This is not a surprise,” DeSantis said. More than 200 firefighters and emergency workers from around the Panhandle worked overnight to strengthen containment lines and protect homes. As of Saturday morning, the 1,500-acre (607 hectare) Adkins Avenue Fire was 30% contained, according to the Florida Forest Service.

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SC forestry officials report 32 wildfires in 1 day. No ‘time to be complacent,’ they warn

By Emily Bohatch
The State
March 4, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: United States, US East

South Carolina Forestry Commission officials reported a “dramatic uptick” in wildfires across the state Thursday. Forestry officials reported 32 wildfires, most of which started along either side of the Interstate 95 corridor. The news come as the state kicks off South Carolina’s wildfire season, which, like most of the southeast, runs from March to April. Wildfire season is when the Palmetto State typically documents its largest and most destructive fires, Forestry Commission Fire Chief Darryl Jones said. Officials urged South Carolinians to be vigilant when burning anything outdoors. They added that recent low humidity levels, falling below 20% in most of the state, are likely a factor in the recent increase of wildfires.

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Putin tells officials to tackle Siberian forest fires, prevent repeat of last year

Reuters
May 10, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin told regional officials on Tuesday to deal with forest fires in Siberia and said there could be no repeat of last year’s fire season – the biggest on record. Putin said fires were causing significant material damage and posing a threat to life, the environment and the economy. Acting Emergencies Minister Alexander Chupryan told Putin: “Altogether since the start of the year on Russian territory there have been 4,000 forest fires on an area of 270,000 hectares” – an area larger than Luxembourg. The 2021 fire season was Russia’s largest ever, with 18.8 million hectares of forest destroyed by blazes, according to Greenpeace Russia. At least eight people died in Siberia on Saturday as fires ripped through hundreds of buildings in several villages, with high winds hampering efforts to extinguish the blazes.

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Forest fires multiply as drought persists in Switzerland

Swiss Info
March 26, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

The southern canton of Ticino has been hardest hit by forest fires as a drought that began in early December has prompted several regions to raise their wildfire risk levels to “severe”. Authorities in Centovalli in Ticino were able to bring a large forest fire under control as winds died down on Saturday. The fire, which began four days earlier, destroyed a total of 55 hectares and forced the evacuation of 21 people from the municipality of Verdasio. …A meteorologist with MéteoSuisse warned the level of precipitation in Switzerland was “critical”. At most measuring stations, water levels were less than 25% the normal flow at this time of year, Aude Untersee toldExternal link La Liberté newspaper. The authorities are urging the population to avoid making a fire in or near a forest and to not throw cigarette butts and matches out in the open.

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Wildfire rages at forest near Lukla Airport, disrupts flights

By Bhanubhakta Niraula
The Kathmandu Post
March 7, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

A massive wildfire has broken out in a forest near Lukla Airport in Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu. …According to the airport officials, the smoke from the wildfire that occurred at Nakchung Community Forest in the rural municipality has disrupted regular flights at the airport during the start of the tourist season. …A team of Nepal Police, Nepal Army and locals reached the wildfire area …on Monday morning. However, the fire could not be brought under control as it has spread through difficult terrain. Authorities deployed a helicopter to douse the flames after the team of security personnel and locals failed to bring the inferno under control. “We deployed a helicopter to deal with the wildfire as it is burning through a tough geographical terrain,” said District Police Office DSP Kawit Katwal, “However, the wildfire could not be brought under control and is still raging on.”

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South Korean wildfire forces thousands to flee their homes

Associated Press in ABC News
March 4, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

SEOUL, South Korea — Thousands of South Koreans fled their homes Friday as a large wildfire ripped through an eastern coastal area and temporarily threatened a nuclear power station before being driven away by winds. As of Friday evening, around 1,000 firefighters were battling the blaze amid strong winds and focusing their efforts on preventing it from reaching a liquified natural gas facility near the city of Samcheok. The fire began Friday morning on a mountain in the nearby county of Uljin and destroyed at least 22 homes and nine other structures, according to officials at the National Fire Agency and the Korea Forest Service. Nearly 4,000 people fled their houses as the fire spread, but all but 161 had returned as of Friday evening, said Lee Jae-hoon, a National Fire Agency official.

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Greece: Forest Fires in 2021 Burnt as Much Land as in All Years from 2013 to 2020

Hellenic News of America
January 4, 2022
Category: Forest Fires
Region: International

The year 2021 was the worst on record between 2008 and 2020 – a total of 13 years – for the total amount of land burnt in Greece in one year, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) meteo.gr service said on Tuesday. Based on data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), there were 84 forest fire events in Greece in 2021, which burnt more than 130,000 hectares in total. This was more than in all the years from 2008 onward, while the total area of land burnt in 2021 was roughly equal to the sum of that burnt in the eight years between 2013 and 2020. It was also the worst year for the average land burnt per forest fire, which exceeded 150 hectares in 2021, up from an average of 50 hectares in the previous 13 years.

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As a wildfire closes in, New Mexico residents prepare to flee

The Associated Press in National Public Radio
May 2, 2022
Category: Forest Fires

LAS VEGAS, New Mexico — Wind-whipped flames raced across more of New Mexico’s pine-covered mountainsides on Monday, closing in on a town of 13,000 people where some residents hurried to pack their cars with belongings, others hustled to clear brush from around their homes, and police were called in to help evacuate the state’s psychiatric hospital. Firefighting crews battled on several fronts to keep the fire, the largest burning in the U.S., from pushing into more populated areas. The fire has charred more than 217 square miles and flames could be seen from Las Vegas just a couple miles away. Fire officials said they were encouraged by a forecast for Tuesday but the blaze is expected to keep growing, putting it on track to possibly be one of the largest and most destructive in the state’s recorded history.

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