Forest Fires

2 killed in Spanish wildfire as extreme heat wave hits parts of Europe

Europe's continuing heat wave on Wednesday helped fuel a deadly wildfire in Spain while the European Union presented plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under scorching temperatures. The blaze that broke out late on Tuesday created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that rose 14,000 metres into the sky, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain. Two farmers were killed while apparently trying to flee in a vehicle, local authorities said Wednesday. Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph (17 mph) at one point as it consumed 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) mostly of grain fields. Wildfires today are not like they were before, Salvador Illa, the regional president of Catalonia, said. These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possib

Gunman started blaze, then shot 2 firefighters in ambush sniper attack

Authorities said a suspect shot at firefighters responding to a blaze near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and the sheriff said two people were killed and police were still "taking sniper fire" on Sunday afternoon. The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said crews responded to a fire at Canfield Mountain around 1:30 pm (local time) and gunshots were reported about a half hour later. Governor Brad Little said multiple firefighters were attacked. This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more," Little said on X. The sheriff's office in neighbouring Soshone County said on Facebook that authorities were dealing with an active shooter situation where the shooter is still at large". An alert by the Kootenai County Emergency Management Office asked people to avoid the area around Canfield Mountain Trailhead and Nettleton Gulch Road, about 6.5 km north of downtown Coeur d'Alene. The fire was still burning. N

Govt clears revised ₹5,940 crore plan for Jharia Coalfield rehabilitation

The revised plan prioritises a phased approach to tackle fire and subsidence, focusing first on the most vulnerable sites

Massive forest fire breaks out near NH-144A in J&K's Reasi district

Firefighting teams from the Forest Department and Fire and Emergency Services were deployed to control the blaze

Global forest loss hits record highs fueled by extreme heat, wildfires

Fifteen of the 20 countries with the largest area of primary forests that signed the 2021 forest pledge are now losing trees faster than they were at that time, according to World Resources Institute

New Jersey forest fire triggers mass evacuations, shuts major highway

A fast-moving wildfire burning in New Jersey has forced thousands of people to evacuate and closed a stretch of a major highway. The Garden State Parkway, one of New Jersey's busiest highways, was closed on Tuesday between Barnegat and Lacey townships, according to the New Jersey Fire Service. More than 1,300 structures were threatened and about 3,000 residents were evacuated, the fire service said. Shelters were open at two high schools, according to the Barnegat Police Department. The Jersey Central Power and Light Company cut power to about 25,000 customers at the request of the Forest Fire Service and the wildfire's command post Tuesday evening, including thousands in Barnegat Township. The company said on X that it doesn't expect to restore the power before Wednesday. This is for the safety of crews battling the fire, the company said. The fire in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area burned more than 34.2 square kilometres of land, fire officials said. The blaze, b

Hope forest fire funds would be used wisely and not on iPhones: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear on April 14 a plea concerning forest fires in Uttarakhand after the state said it has taken steps to prevent such incidents. The counsel appearing for the Uttarakhand government informed a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih that meetings were held on the issue and a proposal was sent to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. When the bench said the summer season, during which incidents of forest fires are frequently reported, was approaching, the state's counsel said steps have been taken to prevent such incidents. "He (state's counsel) says there is some development," the bench told the applicant who has raised the issue of forest fires in Uttarakhand. "We will have it on April 14," the bench said. It asked the counsel appearing for the Union environment ministry to take instructions in the matter. The bench expressed the hope that the funds allocated for dealing with and preventing fore

Japanese firefighters struggle to contain biggest wildfire in 50 years

Residents have been instructed to evacuate, as more than 2,000 firefighters use helicopters and hoses to douse the flames

Over 100 firefighters battle blazes on South Africa's Table Mountain

More than 100 firefighters battled two blazes on the slopes of South Africa's Table Mountain on Wednesday, and national parks authorities said they were starting to bring them under control after the fires threatened to move toward nearby Cape Town. South African National Parks, which manages the mountain, said 115 firefighters, four helicopters and two planes had been deployed and there had been significant progress. The fires have burned since at least Sunday on the flat-topped mountain that overlooks Cape Town. A meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from Group of 20 countries began Wednesday in the city and was due to continue Thursday. There was no danger to the gathering. Fires are common in the Cape Town region in the hot, dry summer months between December and April, when they are often fed by strong coastal winds. A fire on Table Mountain in 2021 was the worst in recent years and burned down historic buildings at the University of Cape Town and forced ...

Fire at California battery plant forces evacuation, highway closure

A major fire burning Friday at one of the world's largest battery storage plants in Northern California is sending up flames of toxic smoke, leading to the evacuation of 1,700 people and the closure of a major highway. The blaze in Moss Landing started Thursday. Fire crews were not engaging with the fire but were waiting for it to burn out on its own, The Mercury News reported. The blaze was still burning early Friday and it had not gone beyond the facility, according to Monterey County spokesperson Nicholas Pasculli. As of late Thursday, a few dozen people were at a temporary evacuation centre and the rest had gone to friends or family or made other arrangements, Pasculli said. The Moss Landing Power Plant, located about 77 miles (125 kilometres) south of San Francisco, is owned by Texas-based company Vistra Energy and contains tens of thousands of lithium batteries. The batteries are important for storing electricity from such renewable energy sources as solar energy, but if the

LA wildfires: 24 deaths, fire tornado & 12,000 damaged structures. Updates

Los Angeles fires: While the exact cause of the fires is yet to be determined, early estimates suggest that economic damages and losses could range between $135 billion and $150 billion

New fires, National Guard and burnt properties: What is happening in LA?

LA wildfire: The Pacific Palisades Fire, which has consumed over 19,000 acres, ranks among the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles' history

Statsguru: India's forest and tree cover at 25.17% of total land area

Forest fire detections saw a considerable drop from the 2020-21 cycle. Odisha and Madhya Pradesh witnessed the bulk of forest fire incidents

67% of major forest fires in 2023-24 doused within 24 hours, shows data

In the 2023-24 forest fire season, the total number of fires detected by the Forest Survey of India was 2,03,544, while in the previous 2022-23 season the number stood at 2,12,249

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh record sharp rise in forest fires: ISFR

Uttarakhand reported the highest number of forest fires this season, with incidents rising fourfold, according to government data. Himachal Pradesh witnessed a 14-fold increase in forest fires compared to the previous season. The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) - 2023, released on Saturday, showed that Uttarakhand recorded 5,351 forest fires in the last season (November 2022 to June 2023), ranking 13th among all states. This season, the number surged to 21,033, making it the state with the most forest fires. Himachal Pradesh, which recorded only 704 forest fires last season, saw the number rise sharply to 10,136 this season. Odisha, which recorded 20,973 incidents this season against 33,461 last season, ranked second, followed by Chhattisgarh (18,950), Andhra Pradesh (18,174), Maharashtra (16,008), Madhya Pradesh (15,878) and Telangana (13,479). Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, who released the report, said forest fires were the biggest problem confronting his ...

Landscape fires reason for 90% pollution related deaths globally: Study

Over 90 per cent of the global deaths per year linked to air pollution from landscape fires were in low and middle-income countries, including India, according to a study published in The Lancet journal. Other countries with the highest burdens of disease due to landscape fires, including wildfires, were China, Indonesia and those in the sub-Saharan Africa. The findings highlighted geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in how landscape fires affect public health, an international team of researchers, including those from Monash University, Australia, found. Landscape fires occur in natural and built-up settings and can include both forest fires and those caused due to human activities. Most of the resulting deaths are related to the air pollution caused due to such fires, contributing to long-term cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. The study attributed roughly 0.45 million deaths a year to heart-related conditions and about 0.22 million deaths annually to respiratory ...

Lack of infrastructure in U'khand to manage forest fires: Report to NGT

Uttarakhand suffers from a glaring lack of essential infrastructure required for effective forest fire management, an amicus curiae report in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said on a matter regarding leaf burning in the Badkot forest range along the Rishikesh-Dehradun Road. Earlier in April, the NGT appointed advocate Gaurav Bansal as the amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist with the case. The report, dated October 14 and submitted to the NGT last week, said it was imperative to address the critical deficiencies and violations hindering effective forest fire management in the state. "The state of Uttarakhand suffers from a glaring lack of essential infrastructure required for effective forest fire management. This includes a shortage of firefighting equipment (such as protective goggles, protective gears, weapons etc.), insufficient patrolling vehicles to access remote areas, and a dearth of communication devices such as wireless and satellite phones essential for ...

Man accused of starting California wildfire by throwing firework from car

A 26-year-old man has been accused of igniting a destructive California wildfire in early July by throwing a firework from a car window during hot, dry and windy weather. Spencer Grant Anderson, of Oroville, was charged Monday after weeks of continuous surveillance by investigators, the Butte County District Attorney's Office said. The Thompson fire scorched nearly 6 square miles (15.5 square kilometres), destroyed 13 homes and damaged others in the Oroville area of the northern Sacramento Valley. Anderson was jailed on a no-bail hold after appearing in court to face charges including arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land, and arson causing multiple structures to burn, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Anderson will return to court Wednesday to set further dates to enter a plea and for pretrial hearings, the office said. It was a long investigation, there was a lot moving parts to it, Larry Pilgrim, Anderson's attorney, told The New York Times. He is jus

Record-breaking wildfires scorch more than 1.4 million acres in Oregon

Wildfires in Oregon have burned more acres of land in 2024 than in any year since reliable records began, authorities said Friday, with the mid-August peak of fire season still on the horizon. Blazes have scorched more than 1.4 million acres, or nearly 2,200 square miles (5,700 square kilometers), Northwest Interagency Coordination Center spokesperson Carol Connolly said. That's more than any other year since 1992, when reliable records began to be kept, she said, and surpasses the previous record set in 2020. Connolly said 71 large fires have burned the vast majority of the land this year. Large fires are defined as those that consume more than 100 acres (40 hectares) of timber or more than 300 acres (120 hectares) of grass or brush. Thirty-two homes in the state have been lost to the fires, she said, which have been fueled by high temperatures, dry weather and low humidity. They have prompted evacuation notices across the state and largely torched rural and mountain areas, althou

Wildfire north of Los Angeles spreads as authorities evacuate 1,200 people

Authorities evacuated at least 1,200 people on Saturday as a wildfire in Los Angeles County spread over thousands of acres near a major highway and threatened nearby structures, officials said. The blaze being called the Post Fire burned more than 3,600 acres (5.6 square miles or 14.5 square kilometers) near the Interstate 5 freeway in Gorman, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. California State Park Services evacuated 1,200 people from the Hungry Valley recreation area in Gorman and both Hungry Valley and the Pyramid Lake reservoir were closed as a result of the fire threat, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said in an 8 p.m. update. The flames broke out at around 1:45 pm, authorities said. The fire was moving southeast toward Pyramid Lake and crews were constructing perimeter fire lines while aircraft worked against limited visibility to stop the fire's progress, the fire department