A warning was given on Sunday for the small town of Saprae Creek Estates in northern Alberta. It is located southeast of Fort McMurray.
The Alberta Emergency Alert was sent out at 3:50 pm to warn people in the hamlet about a wildfire that could come towards their community.
Everyone in the area was told to be prepared to leave quickly if needed.
“If you live in Saprae Creek Estates, be aware and do what emergency workers tell you,” the message said.
A couple of hours later, the RCMP said that drones flying near the fire were getting in the way of the firefighters trying to put out the fire.
The police said that the drones were stopping the helicopters from fighting the fire.
The RCMP said that this behavior is a big problem for public safety because helicopters are very important for fighting fires and keeping them from spreading. “Please stop flying drones near forest fires and anywhere helicopters are flying. ”
In Canada, only drone pilots with permission can fly over a forest fire or within 9. 3 kilometers of a forest fire. Not doing what you’re supposed to could result in getting fined or going to jail.
At 7:15 pm, the Alberta Wildfire dashboard showed a big fire burning southeast of the community, just west of the Christina River.
Saprae Creek Estates is about 25 kilometers to the southeast of Fort McMurray.
Tag: wildfires
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Drones disrupt efforts to contain wildfires close to Fort McMurray
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Over 120 people dead in Chile as result of wildfires
Deadly fires in Chile have burned many areas and killed over 120 people. The authorities say more people could die.
At least 122 people have died already, according to the city of Valparaiso’s Legal Medical Services on Monday. Authorities also said that they have identified 32 bodies, performed 40 autopsies, and are ready to give 10 bodies to their families.
Images and videos from the news agency showed the widespread damage caused by the fires in many communities over the weekend. From above, pictures from El Olivar showed many cars burned and destroyed, and many houses turned to ash. A video from CNN showed the inside of a bus driving through ValparaÃso while fires burned outside.
The Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (SENAPRED) said there are 161 fires burning in the country right now.
The SENAPRED Director, Álvaro Hormazábal, told the media that firefighters have stopped 102 fires, but are still fighting 40 others. Nineteen fires are being watched right now, said Hormazábal.
President Gabriel Boric said there is a big problem in coastal cities like Viña del Mar and Valparaiso, so he declared a state of emergency. The cities were filled with smoke. People living in the middle of the city had to leave their homes too. Boric spoke at a press conference after visiting the areas that were affected. He is worried that the number of people who died will go up a lot.
On TV, Boric said that the defense ministry will send more soldiers to places that need help, and they will have everything they need.
He said Monday and Tuesday will be national days of sadness for the people who died in the fire.
The problem of climate change, caused by humans, is making heat waves and droughts, which make wildfires happen more often and with more strength. The world is having the El Niño phenomenon right now, which is making temperatures even hotter.
Fires are getting worse everywhere, showing how the climate crisis is changing and causing a lot of damage. And experts say that it will only get more bad. The UN Environment Programme said in a report in 2022 that uncontrolled and very damaging wildfires are now a common part of the seasons in many parts of the world.
The UN report says that the amount of very serious wildfires will go up by 14% by 2030. In 2050, the increase will go up by 30%.
In Chile, there are fires happening while the country is dealing with very hot weather in the summer. The city of Santiago has been experiencing very hot and dry weather with temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius (91. 4°F) for several days in a row.
Colombia had big fires, and they asked for help from other countries to fight the fires. They said it was a disaster.
Emergency teams in Chile are focusing on putting out the fires in the port city of Valparaíso first because it is close to where people live. Local leaders said that 372 people in the area are missing.
Valparaiso is a famous place for tourists. It is in Chile, about 70 miles away from the capital city, Santiago. People like to visit because of its pretty houses, hilly landscapes, and its old town with a lot of history.
Valeria Melipillán, who is the leader of Quilpué city in central Chile, said to CNN Chile that the wildfires are the biggest ever in the region. About 1,400 homes in the town have been harmed, said Melipillán.
Chile’s Finance Minister Mario Marcel said on Sunday that early estimates show that the damages in the Valparaíso region will be very expensive, possibly costing hundreds of millions of dollars.
Some people in the affected areas did not leave their homes even though they were told to do so. Evacuation efforts were good, but some people didn’t want to go. That’s what local search and rescue officials said.
Rodrigo Mundaca, the leader of Valparaiso, said there are curfews in place in Viña del Mar, Quilpué, Villa Alemana, and Limache so that the authorities can focus on stopping the fires.
Pope Francis, who is from Argentina, asked people to pray for the people who died or got hurt in the big fires in central Chile.
CNN Chile reported that they have arrested at least one person in connection to the wildfires.
The police said a man in Talca, Chile was welding at home when a fire started and spread to the grasslands.
The person accused of a crime will go to court on Sunday in Talca, as reported by the Maule Prosecutor’s Office.
A man’s mother died and he told CNN in Spanish that he can’t find his 14-year-old sister and is looking for her.
“I think she may be confused,” said Ariel Orellana. “I strongly believe that she will come and stop this nightmare. ”
Orellana said his sister, Anastasia, was last seen running away from the wildfire in the Pompeya community in Viña del Mar, which is in central Chile.
The girl was living with her mom and her mom’s partner who also died in the fires, Orellana said.
On Saturday, Orellana couldn’t talk to his mom, so he went to Pompeya and found the couple’s dead bodies near their car.
“They couldn’t get away,” Orellana said. “They had a van, they tried to escape in it, and the van was surrounded by the fire. ”
Orellana is still looking for his sister in the places that have been destroyed by the fires. He is also using social media to ask people for help in finding her.
I only found two bodies, not three. I only found two bodies, not three. He said, “I’m still searching for my sister. “ -
Tourists swim in the seas ‘where we died’ – Maui resident
The ancient town of Lahaina was destroyed by wildfires, which have claimed at least 89 lives, making it the most devastating fire in the US in a century.
Many individuals dove into the sea to escape the flames when the wildfire tore through the town last week.
A Maui local expressed her displeasure with some visitors continuing their vacations as usual to Sophie Long of the BBC.
These visitors, or tourists, were swimming in the exact same waters that our folks had recently died in three days prior.
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Destruction in Maui: From tropical paradise to battle zone in 24 hours – locals
Les Munn, like so many others here, has a tragic tale of survival. We spoke at one of the shelters on Maui.
His only source of guidance as he fled his Lahaina house through the smoky veil of the wildfires was a police car’s flashing blue light.
He continues, “They were landing on everything and there is just nowhere to go,” as smoke and amber began to fly and the fire simply devoured everything.
“It just went black, and the only thing I could see was the blue lights of the police unit, so that was the beacon I used to get to safety.”
In the evacuation centre, Munn claims he hasn’t run into any of his neighbours.
“That’s kept me tense, kept me stressed these past few days,” he claims.
I am unsure of their survival.
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Wildfires in Hawaii occurred after extreme climate occurrences worldwide
Following other recent extreme weather events throughout the world, there have been wildfires in Hawaii.
Wildfires in Greece had their worst July on record, severely affecting the islands of Corfu and Rhodes.
The wildfire season in Canada has likewise been the worst on record; as of now, more than 25,000 acres (100 sq km) had burned. That comes after devastating wildfires earlier in 2023 in Australia and Chile.
In some areas, such as the western United States, wildfires have burned more land recently.
According to scientists, climate change is bringing about the climatic conditions that make wildfires more likely to spread.
Large fires start every yearly in specific areas of the Hawaiian islands, according to the University of Hawaii, but the size of these fires is exceptional.
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Intense smoke from Canada wildfires forces millions to mask up
Intense wildfires in Canada have resulted in poor air quality levels, leading authorities to advise millions of people in North America to wear N95 masks when outdoors.
In response, New York has announced the distribution of free masks starting Thursday. Canada has recommended mask usage for those unable to stay indoors.
Officials have warned that the hazardous smoky conditions are likely to persist throughout the weekend.
The majority of the smoke is originating from Quebec, where approximately 150 fires are currently burning.
With over 15,000 residents expected to be evacuated in the province, it has become Quebec’s most severe fire season on record. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has stated that one million masks will be provided to residents of the state on Thursday.
“This is a temporary situation. This is not Covid,” she said at a news conference. The governor added that New York City buses and trains have high-quality air filtration systems that make them safe forms of travel.
Environment Canada has said that conditions are worsening in Toronto on Thursday, as more smoke pours in.
In a special weather bulletin on Wednesday, the agency recommended that anyone outdoors wear a mask.
Hundreds of #wildfires are raging across #Canada . The devastating fires have displaced more than 20,000 people and scorched about 3.8 million hectares of land in the country.pic.twitter.com/Ttna2SkmOS
— KGFChandra (@FieldsKolar) June 8, 2023“These fine particles generally pose the greatest risk to health. However, respirators do not reduce exposure to the gases in wildfire smoke,” the Environment Canada statement said.
Meanwhile, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified the air quality in much of the north-east as “unhealthy” especially for people with respiratory concerns.
In total, millions of people around North America are thought to be under a form of air quality warning.
In New York, an orange haze blanketed the city’s skyline and shrouded landmarks including the Statue of Liberty.
“We recommend all New Yorkers limit outdoor activity to the greatest extent possible,” Mayor Eric Adams warned on Wednesday.
Zoos have brought animals indoors, and in New York, carriage horse rides have been suspended.
On Wednesday, schools in the Washington DC area also cancelled outdoor activities as air quality levels were labelled “code red”, while Detroit was listed as the fifth worst major metropolitan area in the world on IQAir’s air pollution rankings.
Public health officials have cautioned people not to exercise outside and to minimise their exposure to the smoke as much as possible, as the air poses immediate and long-term health risks.
Canadian officials say the country is shaping up for its worst wildfire season on record.
Experts have pointed to a warmer and drier spring than normal as the reason behind the trend. These conditions are projected to continue throughout the summer.
Fires across Canada have already burned more than 3.8m hectares (9.4m acres) of land – an area 12 times the 10-year average for this time of year.
More than 600 US firefighters have been sent to Canada to assist local officials, the White House announced on Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a phone call to discuss the current situation.
Climate change increases the risk of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.
The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began, and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
Credit: BBC
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Chile extends it’s emergency following deaths rise from wildfires
Numerous wildfires ravaged Chilean forests, killing at least 23 people.
As firefighters battled to contain dozens of wildfires that have already claimed the lives of at least 23 people, Chile declared an emergency in yet another area.
The most recent emergency declaration, which was issued on Saturday, covers the southern region of Araucania, which is situated close to the country’s lengthy Pacific coastline along with the previously declared Biobio and Nuble regions.
The measure enables the government to call in the armed forces to assist in putting out the fires.
“Weather conditions have made it very difficult to put out [the fires] that are spreading and the emergency is getting worse,” Interior Minister Carolina Toha told reporters at a news conference in the Chilean capital, Santiago.
“We need to reverse that curve,” she added.
At least 23 people have died in connection to the fires, while 979 have been reported injured. More than 1,100 have sought refuge in shelters.
Some 11 of the victims, or nearly half of those reported killed so far, died in the town of Santa Juana in Biobio, located some 500km (310 miles) south of Santiago.
The deaths also included a Bolivian pilot who died when a helicopter that was helping combat the flames crashed in Araucania. A Chilean mechanic also died in the crash.
Brigade members of the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) fight a fire in Nacimiento, Concepcion province, Chile, on February 4, 2023 [Javier Torres/ AFP] Some 232 wildfires were still active on Saturday, according to authorities, including 16 that sparked to life earlier in the day, as local temperatures in the southern hemisphere summer exceeded 40C (104F).
Chile’s disaster mitigation agency said 151 of the fires were now under control, while official data released late Friday showed that some 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) have been burned by the fires.
The three affected regions are sparsely populated and home to many farms, including where grapes, apples and berries are grown for export, plus extensive tracts of forest land.
“I left with what I had on,” said Carolina Torres, who fled from an approaching fire near the city of Puren in the region of Araucania.
“I think everyone here did the same thing because the winds shifted and you just had to grab everything right away.”
Officials said the governments of Spain, the United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Brazil and Venezuela have offered help, including planes and firefighters.
Toha, the interior minister, suggested the fires should serve as yet another wake-up call about the effects of climate change.
“We are becoming one of the [nations] most vulnerable to fires, fundamentally due to the evolution of climate change,” she said.
“The thermometer has reached points that we have never known until now,” she added.
On Friday, President Gabriel Boric cut short his summer vacation and travelled to Nuble and Biobio, pledging to make sure the affected areas receive all necessary support.
Boric also pointed to “signs” that some fires may have been started intentionally but did not provide any additional details.