The Pigeon Express
More than 1,000 firefighters are battling a “monster” wildfire in the south-western France that has already destroyed nearly 7,000 hectares of forest, officials say. The raging blaze near the city of Bordeaux has gutted a number of homes and forced 10,000 residents to flee. “It’s an ogre, it’s a monster,” firefighter representative Gregory Allione said. […]
A growing wildfire that threatens a famed giant sequoia tree grove in California’s Yosemite National Park has forced officials to issue evacuation orders for a nearby community, officials said Friday. The Washburn Fire has swelled to nearly 500 acres as it burns near the lower portion of Mariposa Grove, Yosemite park officials said. Firefighters are […]
More than 900 firefighters backed by aircraft have been deployed to battle a blaze in France’s southern Gard region that burned 600 hectares. “This fire is far from being done, there are fronts in hard-to-reach areas that we haven’t tackled and that are advancing freely,” Eric Agrinier, a senior member of the fire service, said […]
Firefighters in Spain are struggling to contain wildfires in several parts of the country, which is suffering a heatwave unusual for this time of the year. The worst damage has been in the north-west province of Zamora where more than 61,000 acres have been consumed, regional authorities said. The blaze that started in Zamora’s Sierra […]
A fire at a Russian military research institute in the northwestern city of Tver killed five people on Thursday and injured dozens more, state news agencies reported. Russian TV showed images of thick black smoke rising from inside the yellow four-story building of the Central Research Institute of the Russian Air and Space Forces. Several […]
A large fire burning at a fertilizer plant in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is threatening an explosion of ammonium nitrate as officials urge the evacuation of 6,000 people within a mile of the site, including some students at Wake Forest University. “Right now, the fire is still active, and there’s still potential for explosion. We’re asking […]
At least 16 people were killed after a fire tore through a nightclub in Cameroon’s capital city Yaoundé early on Sunday, according to the country’s government. Eight other people were seriously wounded in the fire at the Liv Nightclub, according to the government’s statement. During a press conference held at the scene of the fire, […]
A court in Brazil sentenced four people to lengthy prison terms over the deaths of 242 club-goers in a fire during a party in 2013. The blaze began when members of a band performing at the Kiss nightclub, in the southern city of Santa Maria, lit flares which set light to the ceiling. There was […]
The Caldor Fire raging in Northern California has prompted evacuation orders and warnings in the Lake Tahoe Basin on Sunday night after conditions resulted in rapid spread. The patients at Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe were all evacuated. “Patients will be transferred to regional partner facilities & patients’ families will be notified,” the […]
Paraguay officials are battling fierce wildfires for a third consecutive year as a severe drought and a winter heatwave hit the South American country. Vast areas of Paraguay have been affected, with blazes concentrated in the northeastern administrative departments of Concepcion and Amambay. Thick smoke has reached the capital Asuncion, leaving the sky yellow and […]
At least five died and six others suffered injuries in a fire at an offshore oil platform owned by Mexico’s state-run company Pemex. Rescue workers are still searching for two unaccounted people. The fire also caused work to be halted at 125 oil wells for which the platform provides gas and electricity. The incident comes […]
Powerful winds stirred two wildfires outside Athens, Greece, threatening homes and forcing the evacuation of villages. More than 500 wildfires have broken out in recent weeks across Greece, which, like other countries in the Mediterranean region including Turkey and Tunisia, has seen some of its highest temperatures in decades. On Monday, a blaze broke out […]