California Wildfire Burns Thousands of Acres

July 23, 2016 - 0:33 - Hundreds of homes ordered evacuated

State of Emergency in San Francisco as Huge Wildfire Moves into Yosemite

THE OBSERVER: San Francisco is on alert as blaze threatens power and water supply

A huge wildfire raging on the western boundary of Yosemite National Park was gaining strength on Saturday and led California's governor, Jerry Brown, to declare a state of emergency 150 miles away in San Francisco. Officials fear the blaze could threaten the city's water and power supply.

The week-long fire on the slopes of the western Sierra Nevada mountains is burning across nearly 200 sq miles, threatens 5,500 homes and could push deeper into Yosemite – one of the country's most treasured national parks as well as one of California's most popular tourist destinations. » | Edward Helmore in New York | Saturday, August 24, 2013

California Wildfires Continue to Rage
Much of southern California's landscape is still engulfed in flames on Saturday, as firefighters struggle to extinguish the wildfires. The hills of Camarillo, near Los Angeles, have been burning since Thursday morning and officials say the blaze may burn for another two days. The fire marks the start of California's fire season, expected to be severe this year due to high temperatures and drought

Inside Story Americas – Extreme Weather: Linked to Climate Change?
Extreme weather has gripped much of the United States recently and thousands of heat records have been broken. At least 46 deaths have been linked to the July heat wave alone. A study released this week shows that the last 12 months have been the warmest on record for the US mainland. And these numbers do not even include July's high temperatures. In late June, a violent weather system left more than a dozen people dead and millions without power for days across several states. Most of the country is suffering from moderate to extreme drought, creating conditions ideal for raging wildfires.

Bushfires in Western Australia Force Residents onto Beach
Residents of the Margaret River region of Western Australia were forced to take shelter on the local beach as bushfires swept the area destroying over 30 homes.

Read short article here | Friday, November 25, 2011

Deadly Fire Sweeps Through Israel
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: The worst brush fire in Israel's history has burned thousands of acres of land, forced villages to evacuate and killed dozens of people. Video courtesy of Reuters.

Fires Rage in Portugal and Russia
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Fires persist in Portugal and Russia, destroying villages and forests as authorities continue to battle the flames. Deborah Lutterbeck reports for Reuters.

Eyewitness Account of Russia’s Wildfires
RUSSIA TODAY: Eyewitnesses have been sharing their video on the Internet of the deadly wildfires. This one was shot by a group of men trying to escape from a burning village in the Nizhny Novgorod region using the only paved road.


Related here and here and here

Warnings Against Travel to Moscow as Russian Wildfires Blaze
THE TELEGRAPH: The US, Germany and France have asked citizens to avoid travel to Moscow as Russia struggles to battle wildfires which have claimed 52 lives and choked the capital.

Wildfire burning in a forest near the village of Golovanovo, Russia. Photo: The Telegraph
Germany closed its embassy until further notice and advised citizens against "non-essential" travel to the affected regions.

The US State Department asked nationals to seriously review travel plans.

"Forest fires and extreme high temperatures in the Moscow region and surrounding areas of central Russia have produced hazardous levels of air pollution and caused numerous flight delays and cancellations in Moscow," the department said in a warning set to expire on September 5.

"The hazardous air quality means that persons with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should remain indoors and keep activity levels low. Everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors," it said.

The French foreign ministry also asked citizens to avoid travel to nine affected regions and announced it was sending experts to determine "the most adequate aid" it could offer.

Moscow's iconic landmarks such as the spires of the Kremlin towers or the onion domes of Orthodox churches were largely invisible from a distance on Friday as a heavy smog hung over the city after the worst heatwave in decades broke out in July. >>> | Saturday, August 07, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Russian heatwave kills 5,000 as fires rage out of control: Russia's devastating summer heatwave has cost almost 5,000 lives, according to officials who conceded yesterday that the state was struggling to gain control over the worst wildfires in decades. >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Friday, August 06, 2010

The disaster in pictures >>>

Isn’t there anything that the British government can do in the way of assistance? It seems to me that we British should be doing something to help these poor people? I applaud the French for sending experts to Russia to determine the best way of helping the Russians battle with these dreadful, uncontrollable wildfires. – Mark

California Arsonist May Face Death Penalty for Los Angeles Widlfire [sic], Prosecutors Say
THE TELEGRAPH: The suspected arsonist who started the Station wildfire that swept through the hills above Los Angeles last week could face the death penalty, prosecutors say.

Two firefighters died when their vehicle crashed off the road as they worked with a group of inmates battling the blaze during some of the most intense hours of the operation.

Sheriff Lee Baca has said police have launched a murder investigation following the deaths during the biggest fire in the history of Los Angeles County.

A law enforcement source told The Los Angeles Times on Saturday that "material that didn't belong there" has been found at the site suspected to be where the fire started, a twice-scorched slope near Mile Marker 29 along Angeles Crest Highway.

The suspicious substance was reportedly found in the brush off the highway and has been sent for laboratory testing.

The fire, which was 42 per cent contained by Saturday morning, has destroyed more than 154,000 acres and 76 homes. It has cost more than $37 million to fight but the much greater damage to property, wildlife is still being assessed.

There is a recent precedent for an arsonist receiving the death penalty.

In June, Raymond Lee Oyler, a mechanic, was sentenced to die for setting the 2006 Esperanza blaze that claimed the lives of five firefighters.

Even if the fire was accidental, the newspaper reported that the starter could face jail time if charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter or negligent homicide resulting from a tossed cigarette, fuel spill or other careless act that caused the fire. >>> Philip Sherwell in San Francisco and agencies | Saturday, September 05, 2009

LA Wildfires 'Were Arson'
THE TELEGRAPH: The huge wildfires burning in the foothills above Los Angeles were started by arson and will be investigated as a homicide after two firemen died tackling the blaze, according to the authorities.

A firefighter monitors a fire in the suburb of Glendale on the outskirts of Los Angeles city. Photo: The Telegraph
Investigators found evidence of arson at the point of origin for the largest of eight fires burning in the county, which has blackened an area the size of Chicago.

"Arson investigators from the US Forest Service [and other agencies] ... have concluded that the Station Fire was the result of an arson," Forest Service Commander Rita Wears told reporters at a press conference. >>> Alex Spillius, in Washington | Friday, September 04, 2009

Station Fire Claims 18 Homes and Two Firefighters
LOS ANGELES TIMES: Crews struggle to contain a 42,500-acre blaze that's 'still very much out of control.' The flames have continued to spread despite relatively low winds, and continuing heat will keep them going.

Los Angeles wildfires. Photo: Los Angeles Times
The giant fire in Angeles National Forest continued its slow-motion rampage through the mountains Sunday, causing the deaths of two firefighters as it bore down on the semirural community of Acton and threatened to overrun Mt. Wilson.

The two firefighters were killed when they drove off the side of a treacherous road in the Mt. Gleason area, south of Acton, around 2:30 p.m., said Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant. They were later identified as Arnaldo Quinones, 35, of Palmdale and Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County.

"This accident is tragic," Bryant said, choking up as he spoke Sunday evening. "This is a very difficult time for L.A. County Fire Department and the men and women that serve day in, day out."

The fire had churned through more than 42,500 acres of chaparral and forest, from the edge of metropolitan Los Angeles up to pine-clad ridges and down toward the Mojave desert. More than 12,500 homes were threatened and 6,600 were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday night. Eighteen residences have been destroyed, fire officials said, mostly in the Big Tujunga Canyon area.

The fire was 5% contained, officials said, and at least temporarily eased off the foothill communities from La Cañada Flintridge to Altadena.

Much of Sunday turned into a blistering-hot waiting game for firefighters, who were trying to determine where the fire would move next. Rather than battling the flames in the sheer granite canyons of the interior, with heavy vegetation more than 40 years old in many areas, they cut fire lines near threatened neighborhoods.

"In this rugged, steep terrain, with this brush as thick as it is, we are having difficulties establishing containment lines where we can make a stand," said Capt. Mark Savage, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "This fire is still very much out of control." >>> By Jessica Garrison, Alexandra Zavis and Joe Mozingo | Monday, August 31, 2009

Nuns Help Douse Greece Wildfires

Wildfires Out of Control Near Athens
Wildfires on the outskirts of Athens. Photo: The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Thousands of Athens residents were forced to flee their homes overnight as out-of-control wildfires reached the city's northern suburbs, destroying scores of homes.

Nearly 400 firefighters struggled to contain the fire that is feared to have damaged or destroyed scores of rural and summer homes as it raged for a third day.

"The situation is tragic. Fires are out of control on many fronts," greater Athens local governor Yiannis Sgouros said.

A state of emergency was declared in greater Athens, in the worst destruction seen here since massive fires struck southern Greece in 2007 and killed more than 70 people.

After daybreak, planes and helicopters resumed water drops following an eight-hour pause that allowed the wildfire to spread across parts of Mount Penteli and reach suburban homes. Clouds of black smoke filled the capital's skyline and obscured the sun. >>> | Sunday, August 23, 2009

Inferno in Southern California
BBC: More than 500,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes to escape wildfires in California in the biggest US evacuation since Hurricane Katrina.

Fierce winds are fanning fast-moving fires that have ravaged land from Santa Barbara to the Mexican border.

The fires have left one dead, destroyed 1,300 homes and businesses, and are threatening 68,000 more properties.

President George W Bush will visit the state on Thursday, after declaring a state of emergency in seven counties. Wildfires force California exodus (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Fires Spread to San Diego

Mark Alexander

Kalifornien brennt
NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: (sda/afp) Bis Sonntagabend wüteten in Kalifornien laut den Behörden mindestens elf Grossbrände, vor allem in der Region von Los Angeles, San Diego und Santa Barbara. Die Flammen seien absolut nicht unter Kontrolle zu bekommen, sagte der Feuerwehrchef von Los Angeles, Michael Freeman. Gouverneur Arnold Schwarzenegger rief für die betroffenen Gebiete den Notstand aus. 250'000 fliehen in Kalifornien vor Bränden: Ein Mann in den Flammen umgekommen - Notstand ausgerufen

BBC:
Californians flee as fires rage

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
California burns

Mark Alexander

Wildfires Rage in California
BBC: At least one person has been killed and thousands evacuated as at least 12 wildfires rage across the US state of California, fanned by fierce winds.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven counties, with 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares) burnt from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

In Malibu, a large blaze forced stars including film director James Cameron and Olivia Newton-John to flee.

Officials say the ground is tinder dry after a record summer heatwave. Wildfires blaze across California (more)

WATCH BBC VIDEO:
Wildfires Rage in Malibu

WATCH GUARDIAN VIDEO:
California wildfire: A blaze rages in the hills above Malibu, threatening million-dollar homes

THE GUARDIAN:
35,000 flee as wildfires rip through southern California

TIMESONLINE:
Hollywood stars evacuated as California wildfires threaten Malibu

Mark Alexander