Vast scale of Colorado wildfires becomes clear as residents finally return to survey what's left of their homes
After being forced to evacuate four days ago, the residents near Boulder in Colorado will have the chance today to see whether anything but rubble remains of their homes.
Wildfires have raged in the area and authorities demanded that over 3,500 people were evacuated from about 1,000 houses.
At least 135 of those homes have been destroyed, making the blaze one of the most destructive in Colorado's history.
The sheer scale of the damage caused by the fires can be seen in the images below, where a tennis court is shown surrounded by charred woodland and rubble where houses once stood.
Ruined: An aerial photograph shows the scale of the destruction in Boulder, Colorado
Several thousand Muscovites are thought to have died in July alone from this year’s unprecedented heatwave and August could add more fatalities to the grim statistics, a Russian scientist said today.
Moscow, a metropolis of over 10 million people, suffered from intense heat since late June, with day temperatures sometimes nearing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
The crisis shrivelled a third of Russia’s grain crop, shaved billions off this year’s economic growth and killed at least 54 people in wildfires. The heat subsided today.
Citing a report by the Moscow Registry Office, Boris Revich, a senior demography and ecology researcher at Russia’s Academy of Sciences, said 5,840 more Muscovites had died in July than in the same month last year.
Revich said he believed the overwhelming majority of these additional deaths had been caused by the fierce heatwave.
Smoke from a wildfire is seen outside the settlement of Kustarevka in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, August 10, 2010
A ban on Russian grain exports, designed to restrain domestic food prices because of a severe drought, will not be lifted earlier than its December 31 expiry, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said on Friday.
This is the latest twist in the ban saga, which started after the Russian unit of commodities trader Glencore asked the government to impose a ban for 4-6 weeks from September.
But the government imposed it from Aug 15 to December 31.
A firefighter tries to extinguish a wildfire outside the settlement of Kustarevka in Ryazan region, some 340km southeast of Moscow, today, August 10, 2010. — Reuters pic
Russia’s deadly summer heatwave could wipe up to US$14 billion (RM44.8 billion) off economic growth, economists said today, as wildfires raged on in several provinces and forecasters said sweltering weather won’t abate this week.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has sought to burnish his action-man image and minimise political fallout from wildfires and drought, flew in a firefighting plane that dropped water on a blaze southwest of Moscow, state media reported.
State-run television showed Putin wearing headphones in a cockpit, pressing buttons on a handheld control panel.
The worst heat wave on record could knock one percentage point off gross domestic product, according to estimates, weakening a recovery from a 2009 slump due to the global financial crisis.
People walk in central Moscow as a heavy smog caused by peat fires in nearby forests shrouded the capital yesterday, August 6, 2010
Dense clouds of acrid smoke from peat and forest fires choked Russia’s capital yesterday, seeping into homes and offices, diverting planes and prompting exhausted Muscovites to wear surgical masks to filter the foul air.
Air pollution surged to five times normal levels in the city of 10.5 million, the highest sustained contamination since Russia’s worst heat wave in over a century began a month ago.
“It feels like I’m in a burning house and I can’t escape,” said Yelena Petrenko, 32, who used a handkerchief to cover her mouth because drugstores she visited had run out of facemasks.
Officials urged Muscovites to stay indoors because of the dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and fine particles in the air. Weather forecasts said the smoke, which has reached even underground metro stations, would persist until Monday.
A firefighter works to extinguish a fire in a pine forest outside Voronezh, Russia today August 2, 2010
Russia declared a state of emergency in seven regions today after wildfires killed at least 34 people and left thousands homeless in the worst heat wave since records began 130 years ago.
Fires raging across European Russia have destroyed homes, forests and fields, already scorched for weeks by an unprecedented heat wave.
Firefighters monitor a fire in the suburb of Glendale on the outskirts of Los Angeles city, California, 01 Sep 2009 Firefighters watches over the fire.
Left over after the bush fires swepts across the California hills.
Federal authorities failed to follow through on plans earlier this year to burn away highly flammable brush in a forest on the edge of Los Angeles to avoid the very kind of wildfire now raging there, The Associated Press has learned.
Months before the huge blaze erupted, the U.S. Forest Service obtained permits to burn away the undergrowth and brush on more than 1,700 acres of the Angeles National Forest. But just 193 acres had been cleared by the time the fire broke out, Forest Service resource officer Steve Bear said.
The agency defended its efforts, saying weather, wind and environmental rules tightly limit how often these "prescribed burns" can be conducted.
"This brush was ready to explode," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, whose district overlaps the forest. "The environmentalists have gone to the extreme to prevent controlled burns, and as a result we have this catastrophe today."
Prescribed burns are intended to protect homes and lives by eliminating fuel that can cause explosive wildfires. The wildfire that has blackened 140,000 acres — or nearly 219 square miles — in the forest over the past week has been fed by the kind of tinder-dry vegetation that prescribed burns are designed to safely devour.
Government firefighters set thousands of blazes each year to reduce the wildfire risk in overgrown forests and grasslands around the nation. Prescribed burns can also be used to improve overall forest health and increase forage for wildlife.
Obtaining the necessary permits is a complicated process, and such efforts often draw protests from environmentalists.
"Our air quality, for a variety of factors, doesn't need to be further reduced by these controlled burns," she said.
Setting pre-emptive fires can be especially risky near heavily populated urban areas like Los Angeles because of the danger of flames burning out of control. Last month, a 90-acre prescribed burn near Foresta, on the edge of Yosemite National Park, jumped fire lines and consumed more than 7 square miles in the park.
Meanwhile , The blaze moved toward suburban homes and Mount Wilson, home of the space observatory and dozens of mobile phone, radio and television transmission towers about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. Smoke was visible throughout the city. Crews returned to Mount Wilson today to defend it, the Forest Service said. May cause disruptions to thousands of residents.
A firefighter watches a wildfire burn in La Canada Flintridge, California, 31 Aug 2009
US Forest Service air tanker drops fire retardant next to a line of fire in the hills above Altadena, California, 29 Aug 2009
California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, 31 Aug 2009 On Monday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in four California counties - including Los Angeles County. "Fires are burning from the north - the northern border of California - all the way south, and from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Nevada [mountain range]," said Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We have fires everywhere. We have eight large fires around the state of California right now. But the firefighters have fanned out across California and they're doing an amazing job."
A burned traffic sign sits on the Angeles Crest Highway during the Station Fire in the Angeles National Forest near Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009.
Brent Prince shoots a photo of a Tanker dropping retardant as fire fighters and aircraft battle a fire in New Harmony, Utah Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009.
An air tankers drops retardant on the fire as fire fighters and aircraft battle a fire in New Harmony, Utah Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009.
Fireman retreating from the Forest fire getting closer to North of Los Angeles.
Summary of Fire in USA Now.
ARIZONA:
_ Fire crews were working Monday to corral a blaze that has forced the evacuation of about 500 homes in two subdivisions nestled in the forest north of Payson, which is about 90 miles northeast of Phoenix. The fire that started Sunday afternoon has charred more than 500 acres in the Tonto National Forest. Fire officials don't yet know what caused the blaze, but said they don't believe it was sparked by lightning. Between 400 and 500 firefighters were mopping up hot spots on the fire. No injuries had been reported. The residents from Beaver Valley subdivision were allowed back home in the evening, but those from Whispering Pines were told they would have to wait a while longer.
CALIFORNIA: A deadly wildfire that has blackened a wide swath of tinder-dry forest around Los Angeles surged toward thousands of suburban homes and a vital mountaintop broadcasting complex. The flames scorched 164 square miles of brush and threatened more than 12,000 homes, but the lack of wind kept them from driving explosively into the hearts of the dense suburbs northeast of Los Angeles. Fire crews set backfires and sprayed fire retardant at Mount Wilson, home to at least 20 television transmission towers, radio and cell phone antennas, and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory.
_ Officials hope a backfire will slow a blaze that has consumed more than 7 square miles in Yosemite National Park. State fire officials say a wildfire near the communities of Foresta and El Portal is 55 percent contained. Despite aerial bombardment and 968 firefighters on the ground, officials estimate the blaze won't be fully contained before Sept. 10. About 50 homes in El Portal and Foresta are still under evacuation orders. The fire began Wednesday when a 90-acre prescribed burn near Foresta jumped fire lines and whipped out of control.
_ Another 2,000 homes were threatened in San Bernardino County, and a mandatory evacuation was under way in Oak Glen, an unincorporated scenic community of apple orchards near Yucaipa and about 90 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. A 1.6-square-mile wildfire that began Sunday afternoon tripled in size overnight and was burning out of control in oak and conifer woodlands. Flames burning like huge candles erupted between rocky slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains and the farmhouses below.
_ Another fire erupted Monday on the edge of Yucaipa, threatening six homes and burning about five miles from the larger fire. About 15 acres were burned. Residents of 10 homes have been evacuated as a precaution.
_ A 3.8-square-mile blaze that began Thursday near the San Bernardino County town of Hemet was 95 percent contained and was expected to be fully surrounded Monday evening.
_ Northeast of Sacramento, a fire that began Sunday afternoon destroyed 60 structures, many of them homes in the town of Auburn, with an entire cul-de-sac wiped out. The fire had blackened 275 acres amid high winds and was 50 percent contained. The governor declared a state of emergency in the Sierra foothills area.
COLORADO
_ Crews fighting a nearly 2-square-mile wildfire in western Colorado are also putting out 17 smaller fires sparked by lightning. A Sunday night storm sparked the new blazes while crews were keeping the large fire away from three cabins and an outbuilding about 10 miles north of Nucla in southwest Colorado, according to fire information officer Lee Ann Loupe. The larger fire was reported Saturday and was also believed to be caused by lightning. Firefighters had no estimate Monday on how much of the fire was contained.
HAWAII
_ About 25 residents of Molokai had to evacuate when flames from an 11-square-mile wildfire headed toward their homes. But they were cleared to return several hours later when the wind shifted to the west, away from the residential area. A firefighter who suffered smoke inhalation on Saturday was hospitalized in stable condition. The cause of the fire was being investigated. Four public schools were closed in Molokai because of the brush fire.
OREGON
_ Firefighters on Monday were mopping up the nearly 2-square-mile Microwave fire that threatened Mosier over the weekend. Three homes and a barn were lost to the blaze, which has cost an estimated $1.7 million to fight and was reportedly 75 percent contained.
UTAH
_ Residents of New Harmony in southern Utah began returning to their homes Monday after authorities lifted an evacuation advisory driven by a wildfire flare-up. But fire officials warned that the blaze could become active again with expected hot and windy conditions. The lightning-caused Mill Flat fire had been burning in the remote Pine Valley wilderness area for more than a month before it flared up over the weekend, forcing hundreds from their homes and prompting new criticism that fire officials didn't attempt to extinguish it earlier. The blaze has blackened more than 16 square miles. At one point, fire officials said the blaze threatened 550 homes and 58 commercial buildings. Three homes and eight outbuildings were destroyed.
WASHINGTON
_ Firefighters expect the blaze that destroyed a large hay warehouse in Moses Lake to smolder for days. There were 70,000 tons of hay in the Courtland Manufacturing building, where the roof collapsed during Sunday's fire, according to The Grant County Department of Emergency Management. The 250,000-square-foot building processed hay into cubed livestock feed for export to Korea, Japan and Taiwan. There were no injuries, and no word yet on what started the blaze.
Fire officials expanded evacuation orders in the Acton, La Canada Flintridge and Altadena areas and closed more of the Angeles National Forest as the Station Fire grew to more than 42,000 acres.
Wildfire rages , going towards Mount Wilson , about 150 firefighters and 15 fire engines are struggling to protect the historic Mount Wilson Observatory, founded in 1904
A helicopter drops water on hot spots as it flies through dense smoke near Acton, Calif.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and residents help evacuate horses as fires burn the hills above Acton, Calif.
A firefighter clears brush from a propane tank in Acton as a fire races through the Angeles National Forest, where 18 structures were confirmed destroyed.
A giant fire in the Angeles National Forest continued its slow-motion rampage through the mountains yesterday, claiming the lives of two firefighters as it bore down on the semi-rural community of Acton and threatening to overrun Mount Wilson.The two firefighters were killed when they drove off the side of a treacherous road in the Mount Gleason area, south of Acton, around 2:30 p.m., said Los Angeles County Deputy Chief Mike Bryant. He did not release their identities or other details.
Two firefighters died in a wildfire Sunday in the San Gabriel Mountains that threatened about 12,000 homes and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory.
Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said the two firefighters died in the Angeles National Forest when their vehicle went off the road and over a hillside amid intense flames. He did not release their identities.
"This is a very difficult time," he said.
We ask for your understanding, for your patience as we move through this difficult time, and please, prayers for the families of our two brothers that we lost," county Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said through tears at a Sunday press conference.
Fire Capt. Tedmund Hall, 47, of San Bernardino County, and firefighter Specialist Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones, 35, of Palmdale, were killed in the crash, the department said. Authorities did not give a cause for the crash.
Hall was a 26-year veteran, and Quinones had been a county firefighter for eight years.
"Our hearts are heavy as we are tragically reminded of the sacrifices our firefighters and their families make daily to keep us safe," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement
The blaze, which has burned 42,500 acres in four days, was only 5% contained and its southern edge was just 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The fire had churned through more than 42,500 acres of chaparral and forest, from the edge of metropolitan Los Angeles up to pine-clad ridges and down toward the Mojave desert. More than 12,500 homes were under threat and 6,600 under mandatory evacuation. Eighteen residences were destroyed, fire officials said, mostly in the Big Tujunga Canyon area.
The fire was 5 percent contained, they said, and at least temporarily eased off the foothill communities from La Canada-Flintridge to Altadena on its southern flank.
On Sunday, it was threatening the city of Acton in the Apple Valley, a high-desert area at the northern perimeter of the Angeles National Forest. The fire command center said at least three homes burned and it expected more destruction.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the fire Sunday and urged residents to move quickly when ordered out by firefighters.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported two people were severely burned and evacuated by county helicopter after resisting orders to leave. Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said the pair "totally underestimated the fire."
"They ran and jumped into a hot tub thinking the water would provide some kind of relief," he said.
The historic Mount Wilson Observatory, founded in 1904, was in danger. Director Hal McAlister reported on the observatory's website that more than 150 firefighters and 15 firetrucks were fighting to protect the facility.
A dozen or more of the residents took refuge at the Eagles Club Lodge in Azusa — which provided food, showers and tents — after they said their menagerie of pet dogs, cats, birds, rabbits and hamsters were turned away from a Red Cross shelter.
"The Eagles are saving us, man," said Jack Wagstaff, an engineer.
A growing wildfire sending massive billows of smoke into the sky north of Los Angeles nearly tripled in size Saturday, injuring three residents, destroying at least three homes, knocking out power to many more and spurring evacuations in a number of mountain communities.
Mandatory evacuations were extended into neighborhoods in the canyons on the northwestern edge of Altadena, Glendale, Pasadena, La Crescenta and Big Tujunga Canyon, Forest Service spokesman Bruce Quintelier said.
A member of the Vista Grande Hot Shots helps to cut a fire line with hand tools in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.
The Vista Grande Hot Shots walk past a tree in a La Canada Flintridge neighborhood as they prepare to cut a fire line with hand tools in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.
In this photo taken from Monterey Park, Calif., smoke billows from a fire in the foothill above La Canada Filintridge Calif., filling the San Gabriel Valley. Wildfire threatened hundreds of homes in the foothill canyons near Los Angeles.
The Vista Grande Hot Shots run a fire hose to maintain a fire line with hand tools in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009.
The Vista Grande Hot Shots prepare to cut a fire line with hand tools in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday,
A structure is shown engulfed in flames near Big Tujunga Road in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009. A growing wildfire sending massive billows of smoke into the sky north of Los Angeles nearly tripled in size Saturday, injuring three residents, knocking out power to homes and prompting evacuations in a number of mountain communities.
In this photo taken from Monterey Park, Calif., smoke billows from a fire in the foothill above La Canada Flintridge, Calif., filling the San Gabriel Valley. Wildfire threatened hundreds of homes in the foothill canyons near Los Angeles.
A DC-10 jet dumps chemical fire retardant in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009
The Vista Grande Hot Shots cut a fire line with hand tools in order to slow the advance of the Station Fire that is burning in the San Gabriel Mountains above the city of La Canada Flintridge, 20 miles outside of downtown Los Angeles, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009
The flames crept lower down the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains despite winds blowing predominantly in the other direction, threatening more than 2,000 homes in the La Canada Flintridge area. Officials estimated that 1,000 homes had been evacuated.
The fire was the largest and most dangerous of several burning around southern and central California and in Yosemite National Park.
Flames knocked out power to at least 164 residences in La Canada Flintridge on Saturday, according to Southern California Edison. Repair crews were ordered to stay out of the area because of fire danger.
More than 31 square miles of dry forest was scorched by the fire. It was only 5 percent contained.
Air crews waged a fierce battle against the southeast corner of the fire, burning dangerously close to canyon homes. Spotter planes with tankers on their tails dove well below ridge lines to lay bright orange retardant then pulled up dramatically over neighborhoods, and giant sky crane helicopters swooped in to unleash showers on the biggest flareups.
A major goal was to keep the fire from spreading up Mount Wilson, where many of the region's broadcast and communications antennas and the historic Mount Wilson Observatory are located, officials said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Friday in Los Angeles and Monterey counties.
Several thousand residents of Athens' northern suburbs have evacuated their homes as several wildfires continue to blaze around the Greek capital.
Almost the entire population of Agios Stefanos, 23km (14 miles) north-east of Athens, fled by vehicle or on foot.
Multiple fires have been burning across an area some 50km wide, fanned by strong and unpredictable winds.
Firefighting efforts were suspended as darkness fell on Sunday, with several major blazes still burning into the night, although no casualties have been reported.
"The constant shift in the wind's direction is rekindling the flames," fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis told Reuters news agency. "We must all remain calm through this night."
Dozens of homes were burnt down and a state of emergency was declared in the Athens area.
Gale-force winds hampered firefighting efforts for a second day as the flames encroached on the city's outer suburbs. Officials appealed to residents to evacuate but some Athenians remained in their homes to try to battle the inferno with hoses and buckets.
The Greek government has appealed for help from Italy, France and Cyprus. State-run institutions, including the children's hospital in Pendeli, were abandoned as the flames spread.
"What we are facing is a huge ordeal," said prime minister Kostas Karamanlis. "A massive effort by authorities is taking place to deal with this very difficult challenge."
Environmentalists said that the blazes had caused "biblical damage" to an estimated 120,000 hectares of virgin fir and prime forest. Scores of homes in well-heeled north-eastern Athens were also reported to have been gutted. The scenes evoked memories of the devastating fires of 2007, in which up to 70 people were killed. Greeks are now asking how their country could still appear so unprepared for a similar disaster.
"There is no coordination between the police, fire fighters or local authorities. It's chaos," said Yiannis Nikitopoulos, the mayor of Anixi, one of the affected suburbs. He added that he had "no doubt" that most of the fires now afflicting Athens were the work of arsonists determined to clear land for developers.
Residenst in shock over the fire spread.
Smoke blanket out the normal sunny Athens.
Fireplanes are used intensively to sent water to hotspots all over Athens.
Fireplane trying to stop the firespread.
Map show the fire hotspots all over Athens Greek
A plane drops water over a fire in Varnava village
An elderly woman stands in the middle of a street in Grammatiko
A resident on a water wagon at Mount Penteli, east of Athens
Fire illuminates the sky behind the Acropolis in Athens
Thick smoke over the Acropolis
Citizens of Anthusa inspect the damage caused by the fire
A firefighter trains a hose on the flames outside Marathon village
Houses threatened by the Kaletzi fire
A fireman waits for help during a fire that broke out at the village of Kaletzi. Authorities have declared a state of emergency and order residents to evacuate
A firefighting helicopter flies over Kaletzi
A helicopter drops water over Grammatiko
Locals run to escape a forest fire at Grammatiko village. Fires broke out late on Friday, fanned by strong winds
Residents cover their faces as they flee the flames in Pedeli, north of Athens
Smoke hovers above the north-east suburbs of Athens
The smouldering remnants of a house after a blaze in the north Athens suburb of Drafi
The sun rises in the smoky sky over Athens
Volunteers battle blazes in Pallini
Thick smoke above Athens
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Massive forest fire that broke out friday night blazed into its third day near Athens Απευθείας σύνδεση: Η μεγάλη πυρκαγιά στην Αττική. live stream from www.zougla.
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Russian plane at Athens fire
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This is the CL 215 or 415 aka Super Scooper, the suck water from the sea and used in to doze fire. Able to scoop (suck ) 6,400 liters of water in 12 seconds , mix it foam if required and then drop it at firespot..all without going to airport to refill. Notice it is able to do it while guiding on the water. Mininum of 410 meter of water streth is required. Able to suck at even 2 meter deep of water only..It is still flying while sucking water hence not necessary straigh water source is required it can flying around while sucking water.
