Tag: blaze

Firefighters on top of wildfire in LA’s luxury Bel Air

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Firefighters in Los Angeles said Wednesday they were nearing full containment of a week-old fire caused by “an illegal cooking fire” at a homeless encampment. The blaze, which is 90 percent under control, has scorched 422 acres (170 hectares) since it broke out in the early hours of December 6, destroying six homes in the upscale Bel Air area and damaging 12 others. “We were not aware that there […]

Winds whip California fires as they spread south

by Veronique DUPONT / Robyn Beck Agence France-Presse BONSALL, United States (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters battled raging wildfires in California on Saturday that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee the Los Angeles area, as well as outbreaks closer to San Diego. Nearly 700 structures including multi-million dollar mansions have been destroyed by wildfires raging on six different fronts, but despite the intensity of the blazes, authorities have reported only one fatality. […]

Thousands evacuate as California wildfires kill 10

by Josh Edelson Agence France-Presse NAPA, United States (AFP) — Raging wildfires in California’s wine country have claimed at least 10 lives and forced thousands to flee, authorities said Monday. Fanned by winds surpassing 50 miles (80 kilometers) an hour, the blazes have forced more than 20,000 people to evacuate in the country’s heaviest populated state since they began Sunday night. California’s fire service said about 73,000 acres (30,000 hectares) have been ravaged by the […]

US firm stops sales of Grenfell Tower cladding for high-rises

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The United States supplier of cladding encasing London’s Grenfell Tower before it was destroyed by a devastating fire announced on Monday it was stopping sales of the material for high-rise buildings. “Arconic is discontinuing global sales of Reynobond PE for use in high-rise applications,” a company spokesman told AFP. The firm put the decision down to “issues that have arisen in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy” and differences […]

60 buildings deemed unsafe in UK

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — The fallout from London’s devastating tower block fire continued on Sunday as the government announced 60 high-rises have failed safety tests, while authorities struggle to evacuate some residents. The massive operation to test tower blocks follows the Grenfell Tower inferno earlier this month that is presumed to have killed 79 people after it spread at shocking speed. Suspicion has fallen on the cladding installed on the outside of Grenfell and […]

Wildfire in New Mexico trigger hundreds of evacuations

NEW MEXICO, United States (Reuters) — Hundreds of people have evacuated to escape a wildfire in a blaze in rural New Mexico as hot weather feeds the flames, raising health concerns in other regions, officials said on Thursday (June 16). The so-called Dog Head Fire which broke out on Wednesday about 6 miles (10 km) northwest of the town of Tajique has forced evacuations and grown to more than 12,000 acres (4,900 hectares). Tajique is […]

Five dead, two injured in Paris suburb fire

SAINT-DENIS, France (AFP) — At least five people were killed and two others seriously injured in a building fire in a suburb of Paris on Monday evening, the fire service said. A further nine people had less serious injuries following the blaze in Saint-Denis, to the north of the French capital, a spokesman said. Firefighters at the scene were unable to identify the victims found in the rubble because of the severity of the blaze, […]