Tag Archives: Wildfire

New evacuations around fire-struck Fort McMurray in energy heartland

Residents of Fort McMurray assemble in Conklin, Alta. after their city of 62,000 was evacuated due to raging wildfires

By Rod Nickel

ANZAC, Alberta (Reuters) – A massive wildfire near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, that has grown to five times its initial size has spread south, forcing more evacuations on Thursday after 88,000 people fled the city in the nation’s energy heartland.

The weather forecast has called for cooler temperatures and possible rain, offering hope that controlling the blaze could become easier.Map of the Fort McMurray fire – (http://tmsnrt.rs/1TtvIOD)

Late Wednesday, flames fanned south from Fort McMurray, the main city in Canada’s oil sands region. Officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for the Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation communities, located about 50 km (31 miles) south of the battered city.

Officials on the scene were forced to evacuate a make-shift emergency operations center for the second time in less than a day.

Authorities said there had been no known casualties from the blaze itself, but fatalities were reported in at least one vehicle crash along the evacuation route.

Thousands bunked down for the night on Wednesday in arenas, hockey rinks and oil work camps that were often short of fuel and food.

Fire also threatened the airport, and web cam images showed black smoke engulfing the area late Wednesday evening. Officials confirmed that a hotel north of the main terminal had caught fire, but as the sun rose on Thursday new images of the airport showed no obvious damage.

Major oil sands facilities were not in the path of the flames, but companies’ efforts to help employees and evacuees and protect pipelines affected production and helped boost the price of crude.

Austrian consultancy JBC Energy estimated that some 500,000 barrels per day of capacity was offline. [O/R]

Hot, dry, windy weather has made the massive wildfire all but impossible to control. The entire city of Fort McMurray was ordered to evacuate on Tuesday, and some 1,600 structures have been destroyed, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said on Wednesday.

Temperatures hit 31 degrees Celsius (88°F) on Wednesday. But on Thursday morning, Environment Canada forecast a high of 19 degrees Celsius (66°F) with a 30 percent chance of rain. The average high in the area is 15 degrees Celsius.

A government forecast map of potential fire intensity still showed some areas around Fort McMurray at class 6, the highest level.

In the early hours of the evacuation on Tuesday, fire blocked the only route south to major cities, so thousands of evacuees drove north, where there are oil sands facilities but few major settlements, and no route out except back through the burning city.

Late Wednesday, the regional government fielded questions on Twitter from frightened evacuees north of the city, asking when they would be able to drive south, and whether areas north of the city were safe.

“We haven’t forgotten about you and you’re safe,” said the government on Twitter.

(Reporting by Ethan Lou and Allison Martell in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Wildfire destroys homes in Canadian City – delays hit evacuation

Flames rise in Industrial area south Fort McMurray Alberta Canada

(Reuters) – An out-of-control wildfire destroyed much of one neighborhood in the remote Canadian city of Fort McMurray and badly damaged other areas, the local government said on Wednesday, hours after it ordered all 80,000 residents to leave in the biggest evacuation in the area’s history.

Firefighters in the northeastern Alberta city at the heart of Canada’s oil sands were bracing for another tough day. Hot, dry weather has made it difficult to being the fire under control. A forecast for potential fire intensity showed much of the area around at class 6, the highest possible level.

Some 44,000 people had fled the city by late on Tuesday, but evacuations were delayed by gasoline shortages, local officials said. No injuries or deaths were reported.

In a bulletin posted on Twitter in the early morning, the regional government said 80 percent of Beacon Hill, a residential area at the south end of town, had been lost. Two other neighborhoods, Abasand and Waterways, were listed as “serious loss.”

By early Wednesday morning Shell had closed one oil sands mine and was in the process of closing another. Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry said the company’s priority was safety, and to support the community. Henry said upgraders, which process oil sands to produce crude, would operate for a few more days.

Alberta Health Services said in a statement that all patients had been successfully evacuated from Fort McMurray’s hospital.

The fire broke out southwest of the city on Sunday, shifting aggressively with the wind to breach city limits on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Allison Martell; Editing by Frances Kerry)

State of Disaster Declared, Evacuations in Texas Fire

With no rain in sight for relief, a massive, spreading fire has already destroyed over 4,000 acres of land and nine homes.  Hundreds of people have been evacuated as dozens more homes are threatened. The fire was only 15% Thursday morning and has prompted Governor Greg Abbott to declare a state of disaster for Bastrop County.  

A shift in wind direction Wednesday sent the smoke plume from that fire into Austin, the state’s capital, about 30 miles away.  

“We haven’t gained the kind of ground we wanted to throughout the day,” said Bastrop County Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Fisher “We haven’t lost any more assets. In fact, we keep saving assets. I think we’ll be out for several more days.”

The high in Austin reached 96 on Wednesday, breaking the daily record and establishing an all-time record for the hottest reading so late in the year. Previously, the latest date of a temperature at or above 96 degrees was Oct. 13 in 1991. Monday brought a high of 99, which topped any temperature ever recorded on or after Oct. 12 in Austin.

As winds are picking up in the central portion of the United States officials are expecting more fires to begin due to the lack of moisture on the ground and extremely low dew points in the air.

Red flag warnings are up now in portions of South Dakota and Iowa as well as Texas.  A red flag warning means that conditions are right for fire to start and spread easily.

 

Wyoming Wildfire Forces Hundreds of Evacuations

A fast-moving grass fire that started at a landfill Saturday has at least a dozen families that have lost their homes and caused over 500 homes to be evacuated in Central Wyoming. 

Winds gusting up to 50 mph on Sunday pushed the blaze to the east and forced evacuations in the Evansville area. The fire started Saturday in a composting area at a regional landfill near Casper. On Sunday, the fire covered about 7,000 acres and destroyed about 15 homes.

The strong winds in the region for this time of year may have helped to ignite the fire.

About 120 people and 50 fire engines are fighting the blaze. Numerous fire departments from around the state are helping.

The Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire, which remained 50 percent contained on Monday evening.

California Hit With Earthquake As Battles With Wildfires Continues

As if firefighters weren’t already having enough trouble trying to stop a deadly wildfire that has roared through parts of Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties in California, now they have to deal with earthquakes.

A magnitude 3.2 quake struck in Lake County early Tuesday morning.  The quake caused no significant damage to buildings in the region already threatened by the massive fire.

Officials said that the fires have claimed the life of one woman and has left four firefighters hospitalized.  Over 11,000 firefighters are now on the scene of a dozen wildfires in the state.

Cal Fire said the Valley fire that killed a woman had destroyed 585 homes and hundreds of other buildings.  The fire that began Saturday also caused a number of propane tanks to explode in the town of Middletown.

“This was a very destructive fire,” Cal Fire public information officer Daniel Berlant said Tuesday.

That fire burned 67,200 acres near Sacramento.  Another fire in the same area burned 71,780 acres and was only 40 percent contained.

Light rain has been helping fight some of the flames.  However, the rain has also caused problems with flooding in other areas.

Los Angeles received over an inch and a half of rain in a downpour which caused the Los Angeles River to flood. Several people had to be rescued from the rushing water.

California Fires Force Declarations of Emergency

Lake and Napa Counties in California are in a state of emergency because of the Valley Fire.

At least one person has been confirmed dead because of the out of control blaze and several firefighters were severely burned.  Cal Fire officials say the wounded were being treated at a Sacramento-area burn center with 2nd degree burns.

The fire passed 50,000 acres on Sunday and has been declared to be zero percent contained.

“I’m looking in all directions, and all I see is fire,” Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman told The Press Democrat. “This is unreal. … This thing just blew up on us.”

Over 10,000 residents were forced to flee the flames and officials confirmed over 400 homes and businesses.  Over 5,000 homes are without power in the region because of melted power lines.

The town of Middletown has entire blocks destroyed with homes reduced to a pile of smoking ash.

“It looked like hell everywhere,” Maddie Ross, who fled with her grandparents from their Hidden Valley Lake home, told the New York Times. “It was terrifying, truly terrifying. I’ve never been in a situation like that. We all felt like the world was coming to an end.”

“Losing everything you own and having to replace everything is a scary thought,” Alexis Woodruff said to CNN.

Concrete Dome Home Survives Wildfire

A Washington State man who said he “knew what he was getting into” when he bought land in an area where a wildfire was likely has survived the flames from the state’s worst wildfire with his home intact.

The home?  A concrete dome designed to survive mother nature’s fury.

John Belles had been at work 30 miles away from his home when a friend called to say the fire that has ravaged Okanogan County was closing in on his property.  Belles quickly returned home and shuttled vehicles away from his property and then prepared for the flames.

“The fire was getting close, in fact, there was a firefighter there at the time who got trapped inside when I shut the gate inadvertently,” Belles said to Good Morning America.

“I grabbed the hose, soaked my clothing down and doused the north side of the building as much as I could. [The fire] got close enough that it was super heated and getting uncomfortable out there in the smoke. I went inside, shut the door behind me and watched it move by.”

Belles said the flames roared through his property in about a minute.  He watched the flames through the windows of his concrete shell.

“The building survived as it’s supposed to. I was surprised the outside of the building didn’t have any damage at all. The whole 20 acres is just scorched.”

Smoke From Wildfires Grounding Firefighting Aircraft

Firefighters trying to stop the biggest wildfire in Washington State history are being dealt another blow as heavy smoke is forcing the grounding of firefighting aircraft.

“We’re still socked in,” firefighter spokesman Rick Isaacson said. “There’s maybe one mile of visibility.”

The dense smoke continues to cause respiratory problems for firefighters and for residents in the surrounding areas.  In Spokane County, an area of 500,000 residents, has air quality that has been rated “unhealthy.”

“Everybody up here is rubbing their eyes,” fire department spokesman Donnie Davis said. “It’s brutal.”

The fire in Okanogan County is now at 438 square miles and is only 17 percent contained by 1,300 firefighters.

“You can imagine how stretched thin everybody is,” said Dan Dallas, deputy incident commander of the Okanogan fire. “We’re all working without the resources that in a normal year — which I don’t think there is such a thing anymore — that we might have.”

Firefighters are also struggling with swarms of yellow jackets while they fight the fires. It has been reported that a lot of the stings are located on their faces and necks since their equipment leaves very few gaps for the insects to attack.

Crews are being told to stay away from hives until they are removed leaving uncontained fire lines.

Washington State Wildfires Reach Historic Levels

The Okanogan Complex of fires in Washington State is now the biggest wildfire in the state’s history.

The blaze grew 14,000 more acres on Tuesday bringing the fire to a total of 258,339 acres, or just over 403 square miles.  That is larger than all but 9 cities in the continental U.S.

The flames have killed three firefighters, wounded four others and more than 200 homes have been destroyed since the fire began August 15th. The fire is so intense that firefighters from around the world are being called and even California crews are being called off fires in that state to rush to fight the Okanogan blaze.

“We’ve had the opportunity to be on some large fires in California of this magnitude. We expect much of the same that we’re used to,” said Battalion Chief Mark Brunton, who is leading a crew of 44 firefighters. Brunton told NBC that they are ready to be there for the long haul.

The scene in the fire’s aftermath has been described as being “like a moonscape” with everything in the fire’s path destroyed.

The battle against the fire is being hampered by the fact supplies, equipment and manpower is running low.

“You can imagine how stretched thin everybody is,” said Dan Dallas, deputy incident commander of the Okanogan fire. “We’re all working without the resources that in a normal year — which I don’t think there is such a thing anymore — that we might have.”

National Guard troops are now being called in from neighboring states to help provide some relief to the overburdened fire crews.

California Governor: Expect Epic Wildfires to Continue

The governor of California is telling residents to prepare for more spectacular wildfires like the Rocky Fire that’s burned over 65,000 acres in three counties.

“Fasten your seat belts,” Governor Brown said, noting that it’s been four years since California has been in drought conditions.  He called the fires “a real wake-up call” for Californians.

“These are very difficult times and a real tragedy for the families,” he said.

The worst of the fires, the Rocky Fire, has now burned 69,600 acres as of Thursday afternoon.  Firefighters say the blaze is 40% contained but also admitted that the fires have now claimed 43 homes and 53 outbuildings, almost double the total from two days ago.

Cal Fire officials are also closely watching the skies as “dry” thunderstorms are moving into the area.  A “dry” thunderstorm is one that has very little actual rainfall but dangerous lightning that could spark a new fire.

“The gusty and erratic winds from these thunderstorms could also affect the fire spread of the remaining active fires,” Cal Fire said.

Across the United States, 118 wildfires are currently burning as of Thursday morning consuming around 2,757 square miles of land.  August is considered the high point of the annual wildfire season and most wildfires have been in Alaska according to ABC.