Firefighters with Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency (SOPFEU) are battling a major forest fire northeast of Lac Saint-Jean. The fire has already raged across 58,000 hectares of land and is now headed toward Pipmuacan Reservoir, between the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean and Côte-Nord regions, where there are dozens of cottages, homes, and hunting and fishing camps. “It’s too early to assess the type of damage, how many cottages have been affected,” said SOPFEU spokesperson Mélanie Morin. “When we see a perimeter this big, it’s easy to jump to conclusions and think that everything within that perimeter has burned. It may not have.” The fire is also closing in on the Peribonka Hydro-Québec station, which serves nearly 85,000 customers across the province.
ORO VALLEY, Ariz. – The Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson has burned around 2,550 acres as of late Monday, June 8. A drone flying in the area Monday may have hurt the effort to battle the blaze. The containment was at 10 percent Sunday and officials said it stayed that way Monday, likely thanks to the drone. “The percentage of containment has not increased, and acreage burned has increased largely due to this illegal drone incursion,” said Incident Commander Lathe Evans. “If You Fly, We Can’t!” It was the second time since in three days a drone caused crews to stop their work. Officials said the fire is still moving northeast into Table Mountain.” Crews said they will continue to focus on keeping the fire from moving south, where many homes are found. …The fire was ignited by lightning in the Coronado National Forest late Friday, June 5.
…The blaze near Milton, Florida, was one of several fires burning through the Panhandle that scorched thousands of acres of woods, razed dozens of structures, including homes, and forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their neighborhoods. The 2,000-acre fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes Wednesday. Officials said a few of those residents, in areas south of Interstate 10, have been allowed to return to their homes, although others have been told to stay away. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths. Officials said 13 homes were destroyed so far in the fire dubbed the Five Mile Swamp Fire. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some evacuees were sent to nearby hotels to avoid potential problems with crowding. Firefighters continued battling the erratic fire deep into the night Thursday. With only 35% of the fire contained, it could be days before it can be brought under control, officials said.
JACKSON, Mississippi– The Mississippi Forestry Commission said crews are monitoring two large fires yesterday, one in Hancock County and one in Harrison County. While the fires remain active, our crews do have them contained,” said MFC State Forester Russell Bozeman. Bozeman said crews worked overnight to contain both fires. The fire in Harrison County was contained at approximately 500 acres and the Hancock County fire was contained at approximately 1,000 acres. …Over the past several weeks, south Mississippi has experienced very little rainfall. This paired with high winds and low relative humidity is a recipe for potentially catastrophic wildfires. Much of the rest of the state is also experiencing weather conditions that are prime for wildfire outbreaks.
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s third-largest province declared a state of emergency from Wednesday after identifying more than 700 fires, as the Southeast Asian nation braces for its annual fire season. The declaration comes as Indonesia scales back protection for some of the world’s most important tropical forests. The team that identifies fires and helps put them out has seen its budget halved due to the economic impact of the coronavirus, an environment ministry official told Reuters last month. The province of Central Kalimantan said the state of emergency will run until Sept. 28. The level of emergency is at the first ‘alert’ stage which calls for increased patrols and early extinguishing efforts.
