Tag: bushfire

Australia battles ‘volatile’ bushfire

  Australian firefighters were working to contain a “volatile” bushfire in the southern state of Victoria on Friday, urging thousands of people to evacuate rural areas threatened by the blaze. The out-of-control blaze, about two hours’ drive northwest of state capital Melbourne, has already burned through about 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) of forest and farmland. Almost 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze. “They will be supported by water-bombing aircraft, including the large […]

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Australian towns endure night of ‘shocking’ bushfires

SYDNEY, Nov 1, 2023 (AFP) – Helicopters buzzed over bushfire-scarred swathes of eastern Australia on Wednesday, assessing the damage left by “shocking” blazes that raged overnight. Water bombing aircraft swooped on fires smouldering in Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), while fire crews raced to dig containment lines as conditions eased on Wednesday morning. Firefighters toiled through the night to repel bushfires on the border between the two states, while more than 50 houses have […]

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Early start to Australia’s bushfire season sparks ‘horror’ warning

SYDNEY, Oct 4, 2023 (AFP) – Warm winds fanned multiple blazes on Wednesday in an unusually early start to Australia’s annual fire season, prompting a state leader to warn of a “horror” summer of bushfires ahead. Firefighters said they had been fighting 18 out-of-control bushfires in the morning in the eastern state of New South Wales, some in the Bega Valley region of the state’s southeastern coast. At least three homes were lost in the […]

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Perth suburbs threatened as Australia bushfires rage

PERTH, Australia (AFP) — Two out-of-control bushfires threatened lives and homes in Western Australia on Wednesday, with blistering temperatures set to intensify in the coming days. An emergency warning for the outskirts of Perth, the country’s fourth-largest city, was issued after a blaze that has now burned through about 100 hectares began Tuesday. Authorities are concerned about the fire reaching residential areas, as fierce winds strain containment lines. Emergency services have told residents they are […]

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15 killed, 500,000 evacuated in unprecedented western US bushfires

by Javier TOVAR Agence France Presse Firefighters were battling unprecedented wildfires up and down the US West Coast on Friday that killed 15 people and forced more than half a million others to flee their homes, with officials warning of more deaths to come in the days ahead. The true scale of destruction was impossible to count across wide stretches of California, Oregon and Washington cut off from the world by an apocalyptic wall of […]

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Climate change ‘clearly’ fuelled Australia bushfires: inquest

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s devastating 2019-2020 bushfires were “clearly” fuelled by climate change, a government inquiry reported Tuesday following some of the largest forest fires ever recorded worldwide. With this year’s fire season already underway, authorities recommended urgent action to limit the impact of extreme blazes, expected “to become more frequent” in future. The deadly bushfires raged for nine months to March and were most severe in New South Wales […]

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Bushfire-hit Australians still in tents as virus slows recovery

by Andrew LEESON Agence France-Presse COBARGO, Australia (AFP) — Victims of Australia’s catastrophic bushfires are still living in tents, garages and makeshift shelters months after the blazes ended, with efforts to rebuild their lives hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. Inside a small tin shed on Australia’s southeast coast, a family of six takes refuge from the cold as the southern hemisphere winter begins to bite. The structure — chock-full of toys and beds — has […]

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bush fire in the australian outback

Australia launches national inquiry into bushfires

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia set up a national inquiry Thursday into its month-long bushfire crisis that affected three in four Australians and prompted widespread criticism of the government for its sluggish response to the blazes. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the vast scale of the fires — which killed more than 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes — required a new response from the bushfire-prone nation. The Royal Commission inquiry will be […]

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At least 15 hectares affected by raging bushfire in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) – The raging bushfire in the eastern part of Zamboanga City has now affected almost 15 hectares, particularly in barangay Muti. The bushfire started Monday noon, Feb. 17, and continues to spread to dry grasslands because of the strong winds, according to the barangay captain of Bgy. Muti, Henry Aring. He said that three families own the grasslands razed by the fire in the barangay. Because of the bushfire, travel […]

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Rain brings joy for Australian firefighters, farmers

    by Karl MALAKUNAS Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Drought-breaking storms dumped desperately needed rain on some bushfire-ravaged parts of eastern Australia on Friday, while giving joy to many farmers who have faced losing precious livestock and crops. The rains gave exhausted firefighters a boost in battling some of the blazes, with more relief expected over the weekend as the wet weather is forecast to hit other hotspots. The unprecedented fires, fueled by […]

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Australian ‘megablaze’ brought under control

by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia  (AFP) — Exhausted firefighters said they had finally brought Australia’s largest “megablaze” under control Monday, as wet weather promised to deliver much-needed respite for countryside ravaged by bushfires. New South Wales firefighters said they finally had the upper hand in the fight against the vast Gospers Mountain fire on Sydney’s northwestern outskirts, which has been burning out of control for almost three months. Visiting the area on Monday, […]

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Australians urged to ‘leave early’ in face of new bushfire threat

  by Holly ROBERTSON Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian officials issued fresh evacuation warnings Wednesday ahead of a forecast spike in the intensity of out-of-control bushfires that have devastated vast swathes of countryside and sent smoke clouds as far away as Brazil. Residents of Victoria state’s fire-ravaged east were urged to leave before another heatwave raises the bushfire danger Friday, while in South Australia state authorities began relocating people from a small […]

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