Wildfire Archives - Iran News Daily

Los Angeles: More than 1,000 Homes Threatened by Wildfire

reporter 1222 — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:59:49 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A wildfire scorching its way through brush and timber from the mountains to the desert northeast of Los Angeles threatened more than 1,000 homes on Tuesday as crews across the West battled dozens of other major blazes.

The Bobcat Fire was advancing at a mile or two an hour at times and continued to threaten the Mojave Desert town of Pearblossom after burning into the Antelope Valley foothill area, on the other side of the San Gabriel Mountains from Los Angeles.

The blaze that began Sept. 6 destroyed or damaged at least 29 homes and other buildings, including some in the Juniper Hills area, with the toll rising to perhaps 85 when damage assessment teams can complete their work this week, authorities said.

Firefighters also battled flareups near Mount Wilson, which overlooks greater Los Angeles and has a historic observatory founded more than a century ago and numerous broadcast antennas serving Southern California.

The fire was fueled by vegetation that hadn’t burned in decades and pushed by erratic winds over the weekend, although they had died down by Monday, and were expected to remain light through Tuesday.

Near Mount Wilson, firefighters set more than a mile of fires designed to burn out the blaze’s fuel and act as a brake on its advance.

However, with the fire only about 15% contained, firefighters weren’t taking anything for granted.

“We’ve got a fire here that is bigger than the city of Denver, and it did it in two weeks,” said Sky Cornell with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

About 1,100 homes and some 4,000 residents remained under evacuation orders, fire officials said Monday evening.

Evacuation warnings — meaning residents should be prepared to flee if ordered — remained in effect for the LA suburb of Pasadena, home of the Rose Bowl and the annual Rose Parade, and Wrightwood, a mountain community near several San Bernardino County ski resorts.

The blaze was one of more than two dozen major wildfires burning across California, including five of the largest in state history.

More than 5,600 square miles (14,500 square kilometers) have been charred, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, and at least 23,00 people remain evacuated statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom said.

Early estimates are that 6,400 buildings have been destroyed across the state, but Newsom said “by no stretch of the imagination do we think this tells the entire story.” Damage assessments are ongoing, he said, AP reported.

Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger US wildfires to global warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas, especially because climate change has made California much drier. A drier California means plants are more flammable.

Nearly 19,000 firefighters in California are currently battling 27 major blazes, Newsom said. At least 7,900 wildfires have erupted in the state this year, many during a mid-August barrage of dry lightning that ignited parched vegetation.

Twenty-six people have been killed. Officials were investigating the death of a firefighter at another Southern California wildfire that erupted earlier this month from a smoke-generating pyrotechnic device used by a couple to reveal their baby’s gender.

Charles Morton, 39, died on Sept. 17 while battling the El Dorado Fire in San Bernardino National Forest about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

Morton, was a 14-year veteran of the US Forest Service and a squad boss with the Big Bear Interagency Hotshot Crew of the San Bernardino National Forest.

“Charlie was a well-respected leader who was always there for his squad and his crew at the toughest times,” said US Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen.

“Charlie is survived by his wife and daughter, his parents, two brothers, cousins, and friends. He’s loved and will be missed. May he rest easy in heaven with his baby boy,” Morton’s family said in a statement.

In Wyoming, officials warned that “a high probability for fire growth” exists for a blaze burning toward cabins and an important water supply reservoir that’s a major source of water for the state’s capital city, Cheyenne. The Mullen Fire in the Medicine Bow National Forest is burning in heavily forested, rugged terrain that would usually be busy now with hunters at the start of elk hunting season.

And in Colorado, one of the state’s largest wildfires continued to grow slowly, with firefighters benefiting as the flames spread into flatter ground Monday. Still, the Cameron Peak Fire near Red Feather Lakes had covered 162.7 square miles (421.39 square kilometers) and was just 15% contained. At higher elevations, it devoured many lodgepole pine trees killed by a beetle infestation.

More than 9,000 firefighters continue to battle large wildfires across Oregon and Washington, where thousands of residences have been destroyed, the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service said.

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Iran Helps Syria Combat Wildfire in Hama, Lattakia

reporter 1222 — Thu, 10 Sep 2020 08:36:50 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Syrian firefighters and army aided with a fire airplane belonging to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force have been battling wildfire for over a week in mountainous area of Latakia as well as some areas in Hama province.

The Iranian fire airplane joined Syrian army helicopters as well as their firefighters in Latakia and Hama provinces to extinguish fire in the regions of Masyaf and Al-Ghab, including the Haraj fire in the Shatah Mountains of Hama province.

The Syrian army is also combatting a blaze ravaging a mountainous area in al-Haffah in Latakia ptrovince.

High temperatures and winds have been blamed for the blaze. Uneven and rugged roads have limited the access of emergency forces to the blaze, slowing the firefighting operations.

According to SANA news agency, the Iranian aerial fire extinguisher played a decisive role in putting out most of the fires that broke out in the mountain areas of Syria by pouring 40 tons of water in every flight.

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Spanish Firefighters, Troops Battle Wildfire outside Madrid

reporter 1222 — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 12:12:27 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Spanish firefighters and military emergency personnel battled amid blistering heat on Monday to control a wildfire in the Madrid region that had burned through the night and forced the evacuation of several houses.

The Spanish director of Madrid’s emergency services said early on Monday that firefighters had established a perimeter around the blaze and would now deploy aircraft to drop water on the flames.

“There is no risk to any population right now. We will be well prepared if the fire changes course،” Carlos Novillo said in a video posted to social media، Reuters reported.

Helicopter footage showed thick clouds of black smoke billowing up from steep scrubby slopes.

A spokeswoman for the emergency services confirmed a handful of isolated houses had been evacuated as a precautionary measure but no communities were at risk.

She could not confirm the source of the fire، which comes amid a heatwave across southern Europe that has sent temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Spain، leaving it highly vulnerable.

Madrid emergency services said 16 crews, as well as three aircraft, were deployed to tame the blaze around the sparsely populated Robledo de Chavela region، 40km (25 miles) northwest of the Spanish capital.

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Wildfires in Florida Panhandle Urges People to Evacuate

reporter 1222 — Thu, 07 May 2020 08:36:27 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Wildfires raging in the Florida Panhandle have forced nearly 500 people to evacuate from their homes, authorities said.

One wildfire that broke out Monday afternoon in Santa Rosa County has been named the Five Mile Swamp fire as high winds and low humidity caused the blaze to expand 10 times in size, the Florida Forest Service said in a statement. The fire started as a prescribed burn but quickly grew out of control, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

The Forest Service said multiple structures have been lost in the 2,000-acre fire, and authorities are recommending residents south of Interstate 10 to evacuate. The agency did not make clear how many people have been evacuated from the area. So far, about 20% of the 2,000-acre fire has been contained, authorities said.

The evacuation order will remain in effect until noon Thursday and then will be reevaluated at that time, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said in a statement.

“This is an extremely dangerous and fast-moving wildfire situation that is evolving rapidly, so everyone in the affected area should follow directions from state and local officials,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, AP reported.

Almost all of Florida has had less-than-usual rainfall this year. National Weather Service meteorologist Jack Cullen told The Times that the dryness helped fuel the fires on Wednesday. Cullen, who is based in Mobile, Alabama, said the wind is the real culprit.

“What made this (fire) today was the wind, to go along with the dry conditions and low humidity,” Cullen said.

Firefighters are also battling another 575-acre fire in Walton County. Authorities said approximately 500 people were evacuated from the area and multiple structures were lost in that fire.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.

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Wildfire North of Los Angeles

reporter 1222 — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 09:37:35 +0000

40,000 Ordered to Evacuate as Wildfire Spreads North of Los Angeles

According To Iran News, Around 40,000 people north of Los Angeles have been ordered to evacuate after a brush fire broke out Thursday afternoon, officials said.

The Tick Fire near Agua Dulce in northern Los Angeles County has destroyed several structures, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. It had spread to nearly 4,000 acres and was 5 percent contained late Thursday night, officials said.

It began at 1:42 p.m. near Tick Canyon Road in the Santa Clarita area, and numerous other fires have also broken out in the area, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said, NBC News reported.

While “numerous homes have been burned,” Barger said, officials haven’t yet been able to get an accurate damage assessment. “We know that at least six, but that number may rise,” she said.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department had tweeted that an estimated 50,000 residents were under evacuation orders, but later said that around 40,000 were under evacuation orders and that 10,000 structures were threatened.

A man in the Santa Clarita area was stunned by the proximity of the flames on a ridge. “Woah, Lord. What are we going to do?” the man, who identified himself as James, told NBC Los Angeles as the sky filled with a smoky haze.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this going on. Oh my goodness,” said the man, who has called the area home since 2006. “Wow. This is unbelievable. I’m about to leave — I can’t stay.”

More than 500 firefighters were working to combat the blaze Thursday as sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts of 40 mph were recorded, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby said. “We’re expecting stronger winds into tonight and into tomorrow morning,” he said.

He urged people to stay aware even if they can’t see flames because there are plenty of hot spots.

“If you have not been evacuated, stay vigilant,” Osby said at a Thursday night news conference. “These things can occur quickly,” he said.

The Tick Fire was one of several blazes in California fueled by high winds and low humidity, conditions that forecasters said were helping the fires grow. The National Weather Service said Santa Ana winds were gusting upwards of 45 to 55 mph across Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

In Northern California, around 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate in a rural part of northern Sonoma County after a fire broke out shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. It has grown to at least 16,000 acres, officials said.

Forty-nine homes or structures have been destroyed in the Kincade Fire, which broke out near the community of Geyserville, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire. The damage assessment is continuing.

The fire was 5 percent contained Thursday evening. Around 1,300 firefighters are on the line and that number is expected to increase Cal Fire Chief Mike Parkes said.

“Because of the terrain of the area, the crews had a difficult time getting around it early on, and the fire grew much more quickly in size,” Parkes said.

No injuries have been reported in either fire.

The threat of wildfires prompted utility company Pacific Gas & Electric to pre-emptively shut off electricity to hundreds of thousands of people on Northern California on Wednesday to try and stop power lines from sparking blazes.

PG&E said in a regulatory filing with the state Public Utilities Commission on Thursday that it learned that a nearby transmission tower malfunctioned about seven minutes before the Kincade Fire erupted Wednesday night.

The utility said it learned from preliminary findings that a “transmission level outage” happened on a 230,000-volt line in the area at 9:20 p.m. Cal Fire says the Kincade Fire broke out at 9:27 p.m.

PG&E had shut off power to around 28,000 customers in Sonoma County, including in the Geyserville area where the fire began, but it did not de-energize transmission lines in the area.

“Those transmission lines were not de-energized because forecast weather conditions, particularly wind speeds, did not trigger the PSPS protocol,” PG&E said in a statement, referring to “public safety power shutoff,” the term used for the planned blackouts.

“The wind speeds of concern for transmission lines are higher than those for distribution,” the utility said in the statement.

The PG&E outages that began Wednesday were the second time in two weeks that the utility shut off power to large swaths of Northern California over fire risk.

In the first shutoff, power was cut to about 2 million people across northern and central California. In recent years, authorities have blamed electrical equipment for causing several deadly and destructive fires.

Weather conditions in Northern California eased by Thursday evening, and PG&E said that it has restored electricity to 84 percent of the 179,000 customers who had their power shut off.

But forecasters say another wind event could be in store for Northern California on Saturday evening.

Southern California Edison also was conducting preventive power outages. The utility said that as of 10 p.m. Thursday around 31,100 customers were without power, with a little more than 10,300 of those in Los Angeles County and about 7,400 in San Bernardino County.

The utility said on its website that 386,116 customers in Southern California are under consideration for blackouts under consideration.

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