One spark was all it took. The driver of the forest harvester was working a logging site at Renko in Kanta-Häme. The grapple of the machine hit a stone, throwing a spark that set the underbrush ablaze.
Firefighters dealt with about 20 blazes on Sunday alone, as dry conditions and strong winds heighten risks of forest and brush fires getting out of control.
Authorities say at least seven people have been killed after a “superfog” of smoke from south Louisiana marsh fires and dense fog caused multiple massive car crashes involving 158 vehicles.
The Tustumena Lake fire in Alaska is 25% contained, with efforts including smokejumpers and over 56,000 gallons of water deployed to combat the 35-acre blaze.
Firefighters extinguished fires on Benbecula and Harris as they warn of extreme risk. SFRS said the fires had broken out in vegetation that had died off since last year and then been dried out by frost and low temperatures.
Air tankers and smokejumpers responded to the fire, which the division said Thursday is no longer a threat.The tanker dumped retardant to help contain the fire, which had spread south, scorching about five acres of tundra. Much of Southwest and Southcentral Alaska is under a red flag warning because of hot, dry and windy conditions.
Active fires in northeastern Ontario and eastern Manitoba are expected to send smoke across northern Quebec today and Wednesday, Environment Canada said in a special air quality statement posted for each of the region’s 14 communities.
A four-day heatwave across western Europe that killed seven people began to ease slightly on Sunday, as temperature alerts were cut back and wildfires slowly brought under control.
Wildfires across the western United States and Canada have put millions of people under air quality alerts, as thousands of firefighters battle the flames.
The temperature in Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to Pogoda i Klimat, a website that compiles Russian meteorological data.
The blaze in forestry south of Loch Morlich near Aviemore has now been extinguished.
Crews continue to work a 13-hectare blaze about 40 kilometres northwest of Haines Junction. The risk of wildfire is now considered 'extreme' in many parts of the territory.
The wildfire appears historic in both its size and its duration, but no one can say for sure — because Greenland doesn't have longstanding records of fires.
Lytton, British Columbia, broke successive Canadian heat records early this week, with temperatures peaking at 121 degrees on Tuesday. Then the fires swept in.
A haze visible through Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday was caused by smoke from fires burning in Siberia that began flowing into Alaska in early July.
A smoke respite room has been set up at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The Chandler Room on the first floor will be open 24 hours a day until further notice.
It’s not dangerous at this point to drive on the Sterling Highway, though smoke may reduce visibility.
An evacuation alert was also issued Friday for residents of the Lower Salcha River, from river mile 3 to 40. The Middle Salcha remains under a SET status, from river
Anchorage saw temperatures spike above 60 degrees every day in June for the first time in recorded history. The city also experienced near record low precipitation: Only 1/10 of an inch of rain fell the entire month.
The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
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