Fires around the world

Another late season fire for California, this time south of Santa Barbra started Monday:

The Alisal Fire expanded to more than 13,400 acres Tuesday evening as firefighters continued attacking the blaze amidst windy, smoky conditions. The fire was 5% contained as of 7 p.m.

On Wednesday morning, the fire jumped Highway 101. Evacuation orders remained in effect.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors declared a local state of emergency Tuesday afternoon in response to the fire. The board also asked that Gov. Gavin Newsom reinforce the county’s state of emergency.

The fire, which began Monday afternoon near Alisal Reservoir, established itself in Refugio Canyon on Tuesday and moved toward the burn scar of the 2016 Sherpa Fire, Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes told the City Council. He maintained there was no current threat to Santa Barbara.

Chief Mailes said Tuesday that the fire is starting to move down to the ocean area in several places and is starting to trek east, though it continues to burn through Refugio Canyon and to the west of the canyon.

Northwest winds of up to 40 mph pushed the fire southeast on Tuesday, according to Chief Mailes. The wind’s speed prohibited crews from utilizing fixed-wing aircraft, though helicopters delivered water drops over the flames.

Crews were hopeful that the winds would die down Tuesday evening.

The Office of Emergency Management extended an evacuation area to the area east of Calle Mariposa Reina, west of Arroyo Hondo, and south of West Camino Cielo at 3 p.m. Tuesday — 20 hours since the last change in evacuations.

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Officials said Tuesday that about 100 to 150 structures remained threatened by the blaze, and one barn had been damaged.

The fire surrounded the Tajiguas Landfill Monday night, and the biofilter outside the Materials Recovery Facility flared up Tuesday. Public Works describes the biofilter as an “uncovered concrete structure filled with wood chips that receives and filters air from inside the maintenance recovery facility.”

The Alisal Fire also damaged the landfill’s drainage, landfill gas collection systems and heavy equipment. As part of a contingency plan, facilities in Ventura County will manage waste collected in the area on a short-term visit, according to a news release from the Public Works Department.

Andrew Madsen, the public affairs officer for Los Padres National Forest, told the News-Press on Tuesday that he’s encouraging people to keep an eye on fire activity in the coming days.

moke from the blaze was visible in downtown Santa Barbara on Tuesday, and fire officials reported low visibility in Refugio Canyon and near El Capitan State Beach.

White smoke indicates that there is not a lot of carbon associated with the fuel, while dark-colored smoke indicates the burning of thick chaparral brush, Mr. Madsen said.

“I just encourage people to keep their eye on this one, with the burning in some areas that really haven’t seen any considerable amount of fire activity in a considerable amount of time,” he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

As a result of the smoke and ash from the fire, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued an air quality watch Tuesday morning for the entire county, including the Channel Islands.

If residents see or smell smoke or are in an area with poor air quality, the health department recommends everyone:

— Head indoors and remain indoors, as much as possible.
— Avoid strenuous outdoor activity.

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At left, inmate crews march past a burnt out overturned semi truck during the second day of the Alisal Fire. At right, Ventura and Santa Barbara County firefighters perform structure protection of a ranch off Highway 101.
— Close all windows and doors that lead outside to prevent bringing additional smoke inside.
— Avoid driving when possible and use “recycle” or re-circulate mode to avoid drawing smoky air into the car.
— Drink plenty of fluids to keep respiratory membranes moist.
— If you are an essential worker and must work outside during wildfire smoke conditions, the use of a properly fitted N-95 mask provides protection.

All county residents can check updated local air conditions by visiting ourair.org/todays-air-quality or fire.airnow.gov. As of Tuesday afternoon, the quality was moderate at the PM2.5 level, which means people with extreme sensitivities should consider reducing prolonged or heavy exertion.

Symptoms of exposure to smoke and soot include repeated coughing, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness or pain, palpitations, and nausea or unusual fatigue or lightheadedness, according to the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. Those who experience symptoms should contact their doctor immediately, recommends Public Health.

Alisal Fire 10/12/21 Timelapse
Alisal Fire in Santa Barbara County as viewed from the Santa Ynez Peak fire camera.

 




Highlights:
Breaking their Spirit
Breaking their Families
Breaking their Bank Accounts
Breaking their Hearts
The Reality
The Laundry List of Issues
 
I am devastated as this is my former neighborhood in Louisville. I now live in NY state but have many friends who still live in Boulder County. Fires occur in the area sometimes because it is so dry. However, it historically has been in the foothills or mountains where there is more forest. This is a first for a fire to so quickly wipe out entire neighborhoods in Colorado, at least in modern times, as far as I know.. I think the house I lived in with friends is probably gone. Ironically, my friends had sold the home recently and just a week ago moved to Mexico. Sadly, a young couple had purchased it and barely had time to live in it. I do not know the fate of many others who I know and care about, although some have reported themselves as safe on FB. They will get snow today so hopefully it will stop the chance of spreading. This is shocking to me...it is hitting home how things are changing fast and furiously. As the C's said: "it is not where you are but who you are".
 
A massive fire has broken out at a northern Taiwan logistics center for the 8th largest retailer in the world.


According to Taiwan News (citing CNA), officials in the northern Taiwan city of Taoyuan received a report early Monday of a massive blaze at the warehouse in the city's Yangmei District at the Carrefour Logistics Center.

73 firefighters, 23 fire trucks, 8 tanker trucks and 4 ambulances were dispatched to the scene, where according to reports, nobody has been trapped in the facility.
According to the fire department, the fire appears to have started on the first floor of the two-story structure. There are no hazardous items believed to be inside.
The entire facility is currently engulfed in flames, and smoke can be seen billowing into the sky from several kilometers away. An investigation into the cause of the fire and damage assessment are currently underway. -
Taiwan News
Carrefour, a French multinational that emphasizes in hypermarkets, confirmed that a fire had broken out, but all personnel were immediately evacuated and there were no injuries.

With pundits speculating that Taiwan could be the next geopolitical hotspot after Ukraine - for various obvious reasons - any local accidents will prompt heightened interest whether foul play may be involved.

Photos via Taiwan News from various sources:

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(Facebook, Reporter.Taiwan photo)


(
CNA photo)


(Facebook, Reporter.Taiwan photo)

(CNA photo)

Updated March 15, 2022 — 12.02pm Snip: first published at
One person is dead and three people remain unaccounted for following a fire at an inner west boarding house that its former caretaker said was a disaster waiting to happen.

About 1am on Tuesday, firefighters were called to a two-level boarding house on the corner of Probert and Albermarle streets in Newtown after reports it was alight.

Police said eight residents had self-evacuated, with a couple of the occupants having to flee the building from the second storey. A body was found inside the building, three people remained unaccounted for on Tuesday morning, and two people were taken to hospital, police said.

Former caretaker Ian Mineall said the building had “gone downhill” since he moved out in 2018, adding that after recent downpours the ceiling had caved in “and you could see some electrical wires”.

“I am totally not surprised it happened,” he said. “The whole place needed a re-do.”
At the scene on Tuesday morning, Mr Mineall, who lived at the building for about 15 years, told reporters how he rushed to the property after hearing about the fire on the radio on Tuesday morning.


I knew straight away that [boarding house] was it. Jesus,” he said as he surveyed the damage from the street.
“It was a disaster waiting to happen. The outside is not too bad, but the inside is not too good.”

Mr Mineall said the premises was registered for 12 boarders, most of whom were unemployed or pensioners aged over 40.
He last visited the property on Thursday and had noticed water damage in the kitchen from the recent downpours.

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“Plenty of people have been complaining about [the property]. Mostly about cockroaches and other little problems, and particularly that when it rained the roof leaked, and parts of the roof were falling in.”
 

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Walmart food and merchandize distribution center goes up in flames...?
Between this fire in the U.S. and the one in Taiwan, both distribution centres for groceries, etc., it will only compound the supple chain problems already unfolding and add to shortages and scarcity of essential goods.

I work in a similar environment and these two fires are especially suspicious to me (osit). I'm going to suggest to management that we have a fire drill soon since we haven't had one in a while.
 

Our food industry is ‘spontaneously‘ combusting. How many more of these fires do people need to see before they realise what’s really going on?

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https://gab.com/reallygraceful
Something Strange Happening to US Food Processing Plants...

 
The scope and magnitude of the #CalfCanyonFire in New Mexico. This fire may, develop its own weather system in the coming days.





Chase Golightly KOB May 14, 2022 - 8:13 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Thousands of people have had to leave their homes in northern New Mexico because of the massive Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. Many have had to go from hotel to hotel just to have a place to stay. Now, the City of Albuquerque is getting involved to make things a little easier.

City officials said there are about 1,500 evacuees in Albuquerque right now and close to half of them are staying in hotels – spending hundreds of dollars a day while dealing with the trauma of the fire.

While they don’t know when they can go back or what’s next for them, some relief is on the way. The City of Albuquerque announced that evacuees won’t have to pay a cent for their hotel rooms or food while they are in the city.

State Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Velarde, said he’s been in talks with the city and other organizations to help communities under evacuation orders. He’s heard from numerous families who are incredibly thankful for the help.

KOB 4 was also told that evacuees will be able to receive emotional services as well. This relief will stay in place for weeks and could be extended if needed.

There will also be a community hub set up Monday where evacuees can receive food boxes and other much-needed supplies. City officials said more information on the community hub will be posted online.

Those in need of lodging can access rooms as they become available by calling 505-244-8604.

Evacuees interested in receiving text alerts with information on resources and more can text ABQEVAC to 78015. Albuquerque residents interested in helping can find a list of donation needs here. Evacuees from impacted areas can get updated information by visiting cabq.gov/wildfires or calling 311 or 505-768-2000 for those calling from outside of the city.

The city continues to provide free access to the zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens and Balloon Museum for evacuees.


The Siberian Times
And on 11:11 PM · May 11, 2022
"Wildfire by the Maininskaya hydroelectric power station in Krasnoyarsk region"
Video Tweet
 
Raging bush fires at Stromboli Island | Sicily - Italy
25-26 May 2022

Apparently a very large fire broke out and went on uncontrolled on the Aeolian Island of Stromboli Volcano, which is suspected that somebody (a film crew?) put it on (but no proof exists this far).

Here is a link to a video I wasn't able to embed here (to show the video directly, I mean)




German Vulkane.net by Marc Szeglat writes following today
26 May 2022 • translated with DeepL


Fire on Stromboli: Terra di Dio

- A steppe fire broke out on Stromboli
- Large parts of the macchia on the southeast flank burnt down
- Arson by a film crew is suspected
- There were also 2 major eruptions



Steppe fire on Stromboli got out of control

If I start today with the title of the well-known film by Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman, then it has a very special meaning: "The Land of God" experienced another catastrophe in the last 24 hours, in which one of the most beautiful islands in Europe lost its face: in the southeast of Stromboli, a terrible vegetation fire raged, in which large parts of the maquis burnt down. Two fire-fighting planes were deployed and at first it looked as if the flames would be brought under control quickly, but they had done the math without the Scirocco: the strong desert winds fanned the fire and spread the flames over a large area, so that by now the entire slope behind the main village of San Vinzenzo is charred. The flames raged into the night and could be observed on the LiveCams. In the meantime, however, the situation seems to be under control.

Of course, there is now speculation as to what started the fire. Mostly, such fires are caused by arson. As luck would have it, a film crew is on Stromboli shooting a feature film about civil defence. Present is the actress Ambra Angiolini, because of whom a fuss has been made in the local media for some time. Of course, the film crew is now the focus of the fire investigation, as they were probably filming near the place where the fire is believed to have originated.

The local press speculates that a small fire was set in the course of filming and then got out of control. Other sources say that a shooting was filmed and that the fire may have been caused by muzzle flashes or pyrotechnics. Neither version has been confirmed so far. Marco Giorgianni, the mayor of the village, explained that he had not issued any permits for the use of pyrotechnics or the setting of a fire.

On one of my first visits to Stromboli, in the 1990s, I spent a night at the volcano's crater when there was also a large macchia fire. It was an unpleasant situation, not only because of the smoke, but especially because you had to descend through the vegetation belt again. The next morning the fire was out, but the narrow descent path led right through the torched area. When I finally fought my way through the charred landscape, I looked like a chimney sweep. One consolation remains: a few years later, the island was green again.

Yesterday at noon, the volcano itself reacted to the desecration of its flanks and produced 2 explosions stronger than usual. As reported by INGV, the phase of increased activity began at 14.11 UCT. It lasted for 2 minutes. In addition to the two larger eruptions, there were a number of smaller events from different vents. The explosions covered the crater terrace with incandescent tephra and it is assumed that pyroclastics also reached Pizzo. As so often, the explosions were unexpected. The tremor picked up again somewhat in the last few days after being extremely low in the previous weeks.

It is impossible that the explosions triggered the fire, because it had already broken out in the morning. In fact, there have already been major volcanic eruptions in which lava caused fires.

The catastrophe is likely to be disastrous for tourism on the island, which is already in a very bad way. First the closure of the ascent to the crater, then the 2 corona years and now the charred landscape. Let's keep our fingers crossed for those affected that the "starvation years" may soon be over.

But at some point, the measures against the climate catastrophe will further slow down tourism

(He is a fan of the climate-warming- climate-change theory :umm::whistle:)



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Two eruptions on Stromboli

Yesterday at noon, the volcano itself reacted to the desecration of its flanks and produced 2 explosions stronger than usual. As reported by INGV, the phase of increased activity began at 14.11 UCT. It lasted for 2 minutes. In addition to the two larger eruptions, there were a number of smaller events from different vents. The explosions covered the crater terrace with incandescent tephra and it is assumed that pyroclastics also reached Pizzo. As so often, the explosions were unexpected. The tremor picked up again somewhat in the last few days after being extremely low in the previous weeks.

It is impossible that the explosions triggered the fire, because it had already broken out in the morning. In fact, there have already been major volcanic eruptions in which lava caused fires.

For the already very battered tourism on the island, the catastrophe is likely to have a negative impact.



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The New Mexico fire was allegedly started by the Forest Service, by their own admission.
 
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