Page 4 - California Wildfires

Climate change sparks disaster fears in Anchorage Hillside, Alaska

Research on a flat spot for air evacuations. Talk of old-style civil defense sirens to warn of fast-moving wildfires. Hundreds of urban firefighters training in wildland firefighting techniques while snow still blankets the ground. This is the new reality in Alaska's largest city, where a recent series of wildfires near Anchorage and the hottest day on record have sparked fears that a warming climate could soon mean serious, untenable blazes in urban areas just like in the rest of the drought-plagued American West. The risk is particularly high in the city's burgeoning Anchorage Hillside neighbourhood, where multi-million dollar homes have pushed further and further up steep slopes and to the forest's edge. Making the challenge even greater is that many of these areas on the Hillside home to about 35,000 people have but one road in and out, meaning that fleeing residents could clog a roadway or be cut off from reaching Anchorage at all. The prospect of a major wildfire there kee

Excessive methane emitted from mega wildfires fuels vicious cycle: Study

The amount of methane emitted by the top 20 fires in 2020 was more than seven times the average from wildfires in the previous 19 years, the study said

13 dead in Chile amid struggle to contain over 150 raging wildfires

At least 13 people were reported dead as of Friday night as a result of the more than 150 wildfires burning across Chile that have destroyed homes and thousands of acres of forest while the South American country is in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Four of the deaths involved two separate vehicles in the Biobo region, around 560 kilometers (348 miles) south of the capital of Santiago. In one case they were burned because they were hit by the fire, Interior Minister Carolina Toh said. In the other case, she said, the victims died in a crash, probably trying to escape the fire. The fifth victim was a firefighter who was run over by a fire truck while combatting a blaze in the area. Later in the afternoon, a helicopter that was helping combat the flames crashed in the Araucana region, killing the pilot, a Bolivian national, and a mechanic, who was Chilean. At nightfall, the national agency responsible for emergencies raised the death toll to 13 without giving details on the lat

California wildfire triples in size to over 18,000 acres in just 24 hours

The fast-moving Fairview Fire started on Monday afternoon near the city of Hemet in Riverside County amid a brutal heatwave, reports Xinhua news agency

California calls grid emergency with power use at 5-yr high amid heat wave

California declared a power grid emergency as a blistering and sustained heat wave threatens to push the state's electricity system to its limit

Death toll in Northern California wildfire zone increases to four

Two more bodies were found within the burn zone of a huge Northern California wildfire, raising the death toll to four in the state's largest blaze of the year, authorities said

2 killed as raging McKinney wildfire continues to grow in California

Two people were found dead as the raging McKinney Fire, that has become the largest so far this year in the drought-stricken California, has continued to grow in size, authorities said.

Western flames spread as crews battle California's largest 2022 wildfire

Crews battling the largest wildfire so far this year in California braced for thunderstorms and hot, windy conditions that created the potential for additional fire growth.

California wildfires: 14,000 acres land destroyed, 6000 people displaced

According to CNN, the state fire officials said that the fire began on Friday and remained 0 per cent contained on Sunday in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the small community of Midpines

Wildfires surrounding California sequoia groves spread to almost 40K acres

Two huge wildfires, the Windy and KNP Complex fires, burning around the Sequoia National Forest and the Sequoia National Park in US state California, spread to 18,075 acres and 21,777 acres

California wildfires rage as US West grapples with heat wave, drought

The fire disrupted service on three transmission lines providing up to 5,500 megawatts of electricity to neighboring California.

California firefighters battle three large wildfires in high heat

Hundreds of firefighters worked in high heat to beat back three large wildfires in forests of far Northern California, where the flames destroyed several homes and forced some communities to evacuate

'Orange skies': Biden administration raising federal pay to fight wildfires

The Biden administration said on Wednesday it is hiring more federal firefighters and immediately raising their pay

Big power shutoffs in California as powerful winds boost fire danger

Large swaths of California had no electricity on Monday as utilities tried to prevent the chance of their equipment sparking wildfires

Power cut to thousands of citizens in California to prevent wildfires

Thousands of people in wine country were without power on Thursday amid a fall heat wave that brought another round of extreme wildfire danger to large portions of already battered Northern California

Fresh destructive wildfires scorch wine country near San Francisco

California firefighters battled destructive new wildfires in wine country north of San Francisco Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already badly scorched state

As wildfires approach Silicon Valley, tech firms struggle to find fight

Winnacker, a fire district chief who led a team against the 2017 fires that scorched vineyards in Napa and Sonoma Valley, is interested in tools that can spot fires early and ease evacuations

Climate change in mind, Wall Street to start trading a new commodity: Water

Water supplies have been tight for years in California, and large parts of Asia and Africa also face the potential of scarcity as temperatures rise

California's largest-ever wildfire grows to 750,000 acres: Authorities

The August Complex Fire, which became California's largest ever wildfire this week, has merged with several other blazes and grew to 746,607 acres, up from 471,185 a day earlier, authorities said

US Elections: Climate change largely missing from campaign as fires rage

Historic fires are raging across the western United States ahead of what scientists say is the typical peak of wildfire season