Unseasonably warm, dry weather in a large section of the state set the stage for a roughly 20-acre wildfire near Palmer and kept authorities across Southcentral and Interior Alaska busy putting out backyard fires despite ongoing warnings against open burning.
The wildfire started in a temperature of minus 20C, and is proving hard to extinguish because firemen cannot get water from frozen lakes and rivers. Normally the ground would be under thick snow by this time of year; this November several areas of eastern Russia, like its coldest territory Yakutia, say they are short of snow.
By late afternoon the fast-moving blaze had already burned more than 1,350 hectares and had caused the shutdown of sections of Highway 103 due to thick, heavy smoke. By Sunday night, 2,296 hectares had burned. A mandatory evacuation of some area residents also occurred Sunday as firefighters and fire crews face a grim forecast for the week ahead: No rain. This is just one of several wildfires burning in Nova Scotia on Sunday amid dry, hot and windy conditions.
Lashing at the western boundaries of Waterton Lakes National Park since Friday, the Kenow wildfire’s devastating journey across the continental divide tore a fiery path through the beloved southwestern Alberta park — mercifully sparing much of the townsite but broke north along the entrance highway.
Elsewhere in Russia’s coldest region desperate authorities spike clouds to induce rain and tame wildfires.
An out-of-control wildfire that destroyed 20 homes in a northern Alberta Indigenous community has burned its way into Wood Buffalo National Park.
The temperatures are rising further in Sweden this week, with large parts of central Sweden touching 30 degrees from Wednesday onwards. Many municipalities and regions are now banning people from using solid fuel such as charcoal or wood at public grilling areas outside built up areas.
Like many people in Lytton, council member John Haugen's not sure when he'll be able to settle back home. One thing he is certain about is that his people, those of the Lytton First Nation who have lived in the area for about 10,000 years, will continue living on their ancestral lands.
Smoke from dozens of active wildfires in Southwest Alaska moved across a large portion of the state on Sunday, worsening the visibility and air quality in several regions, including around Anchorage and Southcentral. The haze in the Anchorage area was expected to ease somewhat early in the week.
The Yukon government has declared a state of emergency in the Mayo area, as a wildfire continues to threaten the community that was evacuated on Sunday.
The fire came at a time of heightened risk of wildfires in parts of Scotland due to dry weather and large areas of dead vegetation. Other incidents included fires on Ben Lomond in the Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, on Gruinard Island in Wester Ross and near Dornoch.
Chile’s president says intense forest fires burning around a densely populated area of central Chile have caused at least 46 deaths, and officials say at least 1,100 homes had been destroyed.
Yellowknife residents have been ordered to begin evacuating the city immediately as wildfires approach. The evacuation order says residents should leave "according to risk." People living along Ingraham Trail, in Dettah, and the Kam Lake, Grace Lake and the Engle business district in Yellowknife are considered at highest risk and are urged to leave as soon as possible.
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