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By Saturday, more than 35,000 residents were under an evacuation order and another 30,000 were under an evacuation alert. Ministers and government officials urged residents living in evacuation order zones to take immediate action, in the interest of their own lives and that of the firefighters. British Columbia Premier Daniel Eby also imposed a ban on non-essential travel on Saturday, in order to free-up accommodation for evacuees and firefighters. Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruptions underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet. The fires have drained local resources and drawn in federal government assistance as well as support from 13 countries.
Persons: Columbia Premier Daniel Eby, Krista Flesjer, Kip Lumquist, Denny Thomas, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S ., U.S . Pacific Northwest, Ministers, Columbia Premier, Authorities, Government, REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: British Columbia, Kelowna, Vancouver, U.S, U.S . Pacific, Canada, New York, U.S . East Coast, Squilax, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Chase, Hope, Lytton, Craigellachie
A resident sprays water on hot spots near a house in Celista, British Columbia, Canada, on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Record-breaking wildfires in Canada, which have already scorched an area larger than Greece, are heading toward key population centers, forcing tens of thousands to evacuate. Forest fires in Canada's western province of British Columbia intensified on Saturday, with the number of people under evacuation orders doubling from a day earlier, as authorities warned of difficult days ahead. The fire is centered around Kelowna, a city some 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Vancouver, with a population of about 150,000. Forest fires are not uncommon in Canada, but the spread of blazes and disruption underscore the severity of its worst wildfire season yet.
Persons: Daniel Eby, Eby Organizations: British Columbia Locations: Celista, British Columbia, Canada, Greece, Canada's, British, Columbia, Kelowna, Vancouver, New York
Summary British Columbia declares state of emergency after wildfiresFlames have led to evacuation orders for more than 35,000 peopleAQI of some British Columbia cities at 'hazardous' levelsREVELSTOKE, British Columbia, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Canada is sending the military to tackle fast-spreading wildfires in British Columbia, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday, as the western province deals with flames that have led to evacuation orders for more than 35,000 people. In some cities in British Columbia, the air quality index (AQI), which measures major pollutants including particulate matter produced by fires, was above 350, a "hazardous" level, IQAir, a real-time air quality information platform showed. West Kelowna fire chief Jason Brolund said he saw some hope after battling "epic" fires for the past four days. Since 2009, Canada has been spending more on fighting and suppressing wildfires than on maintaining its firefighting personnel and program. In British Columbia, the TransCanada highway was closed near Chase, about 400 km (250 miles) northeast of Vancouver.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Jason Brolund, that's, Brolund, Trudeau, Krista Flesjer, Kip Lumquist, Lumquist, Nia Williams, Dan Whitcomb, Nilutpal, Denny Thomas, Mark Porter, Matthew Lewis, Lisa Shumaker, Gerry Doyle, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Columbia, Flames, British Columbia, Kelowna College, ., Canadian Broadcasting Corp, Reuters, U.S ., Canadian, REUTERS Acquire, Government, Thomson Locations: Columbia, REVELSTOKE, British Columbia, Canada, British, Kelowna, U.S, U.S . Pacific Northwest, Washington, Oregon, Squilax, Kamloops, New York, U.S . East Coast, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Chase, Vancouver, Craigellachie, Los Angeles, Bengaluru
The 5.1-magnitude earthquake centered near Ojai, Calif., was unlikely to have caused serious damage. But residents in Los Angeles, 60 miles southeast of the epicenter, felt swaying that lasted long enough to take notice. A 3.5-magnitude earthquake often feels like a quick jolt, as if someone just bumped into your desk. The Ojai earthquake was slightly more significant than that and may have caused some minor cracking in walls, according to Jana Pursley, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. Though the earthquake was felt in much of Santa Barbara County, just 15 miles from Ojai, there haven’t been reports of damage so far, said Jackie Ruiz, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
Persons: Jana Pursley, haven’t, Jackie Ruiz Organizations: U.S . Geological Survey, Santa, Santa Barbara County, Emergency Management Locations: Oregon, Ojai, Calif, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara
[1/2] People walk on a marina as smoke from wildfires hangs low in the Lake Okanagan city of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren Acquire Licensing RightsAug 19 (Reuters) - Wildfire tourists and drone operators who could be impeding the work of firefighters are being told by British Columbia officials that they are unwelcome while fast moving and unpredictable forest fires rage in the Canadian province. More than 35,000 people were under evacuation order by Saturday following British Columbia Premier David Eby's declaration of a state of emergency late on Friday, giving authorities more powers to tackle fire-related risks. Some 3,400 workers are involved in firefighting in British Columbia in western Canada. "Leaving Yellowknife, you're driving into the smoke," the 33-year old said of his 20-hour journey home to Calgary in Alberta province.
Persons: Chris Helgren, British Columbia Premier David Eby's, Bruce Ralston, Eby, Ralston, Ma, that's, Brent Saulnier, I've, Denny Thomas, George Sargent, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, British Columbia, British Columbia Premier, Emergency Management, Climate Readiness, Thomson Locations: Lake Okanagan, Kelowna , British Columbia, Canada, British, Canadian, British Columbia, Canada's Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, Calgary, Alberta, Toronto
CNN —Over 12,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Tenerife after wildfires tore through the Spanish Canary Island. Police data showed the the number of evacuations surged from the 4,500 reported on Friday. While worsening weather conditions that would “complicate firefighting operations” had initially been expected overnight Sunday, the night had been “quiet, with more favorable weather conditions than expected,” local government said. Improved conditions had seen a return of a “certain normality” in firefighting operations, Tenerife firefighters said on X , formerly known as Twitter. Tenerife firefighters called the emergency operations their “largest deployment in history.” They are being assisted by mainland emergency services and the Spanish military.
Persons: , Arturo Rodriguez, Fernando Clavijo, Météo Organizations: CNN, Police, Twitter, Europa Press, CNN’s Locations: Tenerife, Island, La Laguna, La Orotava, Northern Africa, Hawaii, Canada, Europe, France, Météo France
Aug 20 (Reuters) - Seven people died in a bus crash on a highway in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the early hours of Sunday, said the state's military fire brigade. The bus was carrying fans of soccer team Corinthians, after they attended a match against Cruzeiro in the Minas Gerais capital, Belo Horizonte. Corinthians regretted the accident and expressed its solidarity with the families of the victims. Several other Brazilian soccer clubs also expressed their condolences. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is a Corinthians fan, offered his condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
Persons: Corinthians, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Rodrigo Viga Gaier, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Passengers, Thomson Locations: Brazilian, Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte
Hours before the wildfire became an inferno that wiped out the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, officials at the West Maui Land Company reached out to the state with an urgent request. The company, a real estate developer that supplies water to areas southeast of Lahaina, took note of the dangerous combination of high winds and drought-parched grasses Maui was facing. It asked for permission to fill up one of its private reservoirs in case firefighters needed it. In the interim, a brush fire that had been contained that morning flared up once again and swept through Lahaina, burning everything in its path. It is unlikely that filling up the private reservoir would have changed the course of the Lahaina wildfire, state officials say, and winds were so high that day that helicopter crews would have been unable to reach it.
Organizations: Maui Land Company Locations: Lahaina, Maui
Albania battles coastal forest fires, arrests four
  + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
QEPARO, Albania, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Albanian police said they had arrested four people in the past 24 hours for causing fires as soldiers and firefighters were deployed in coastal tourist areas to fight spreading forest blazes. Many farmers in Albania set fire to cultivated fields to clear stubble, weeds and waste before sowing a new crop. In July Albania has identified and charged 14 people with starting wildfires. [1/5]A view of a burned area near Qeparo, Albania, August 19, 2023. Albania's ministry of defense said 95 fires were reported in the first two weeks of August.
Persons: Florion, Fatos Bytyci, Toby Chopra Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: QEPARO, Albania, Qeparo, Elbasan
REUTERS/Pat Kane Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies City of Yellowknife FollowKELOWNA, British Columbia, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Thousands of British Columbia residents were on high evacuation alert on Saturday after rapidly intensifying wildfires forced the western Canadian province to declare a state of emergency. By Friday, an out-of-control fire in southern British Columbia grew more than hundredfold in 24 hours and forced more than 2,400 properties to be evacuated. "This is an historic wildfire season for British Columbia," Eby told a briefing. "The state of emergency declaration ... communicates to people across the province the seriousness of the deteriorating situation," Eby said. The escalation in British Columbia comes as the northern Canadian city of Yellowknife evacuated most of its roughly 20,000 residents due to a large approaching blaze.
Persons: Pat Kane, Daniel Eby, Eby, Ismail Shakil, Denny Thomas, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Thomson Locations: Yellowknife, Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, Canada, City, KELOWNA , British Columbia, British Columbia, Canadian, Kelowna, Vancouver, British, West Kelowna, New York, Northwest, Ottawa
Maui officials said text alerts were sent out, but it’s unclear how many people received them (power and cellular disruptions may have prevented residents from getting these alerts). Many local residents have said that they didn’t know the flames were approaching until the fire was nearby. We know from New York Times reporting that by 5:19 p.m. the fire had reached the waterfront, and that by 5:33 people were seeking shelter in the water. If the text alerts were sent out at 4:17 p.m., that was at least 47 minutes too late. On Maui alone, firefighters were battling fires near Makawao and Kula when the Lahaina fire erupted, leaving the ranks depleted.
Organizations: New York Times Locations: Maui, Lahaina, County, Mati, Greece, Makawao, Kula, Europe, Hawaii
In an aerial view, Chevrolet Cruise autonomous vehicles sit parked in a staging area on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Cruise will reduce its robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told CNBC. "The DMV is investigating recent concerning incidents involving Cruise vehicles in San Francisco," a DMV spokesperson said in a statement. In addition to the crash with a firetruck, one Cruise vehicle reportedly got stuck in concrete, and an autonomous vehicle with a passenger got hit by a driver. Last weekend, a slew of Cruise vehicles stalled and slowed traffic outside an outdoor music festival.
Persons: Alphabet's Waymo, Cruise, Greg Dietrerich, Dietrerich, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Chevrolet Cruise, Cruise, California Department of Motor Vehicles, CNBC, General Motors, San, DMV, Cruises Locations: San Francisco , California, Autonomous, San Francisco
The fire-ravaged Canadian province of British Columbia was under a state of emergency for the second day, as a wildfire in and around the resort city of Kelowna continued to consume houses. The fire is one of two in Canada that have led thousands to evacuate their homes in the last week. Hundreds of miles away from Kelowna, a wildfire converging on the city of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, led officials to order a mass evacuation of the entire town. Officials rated the risk of that wildfire to be extreme on Saturday and Sunday and high on Monday. Rebecca Alty, the mayor of Yellowknife, a city of about 20,000, said an estimated 1,600 residents were defying evacuation orders and remained in the city.
Persons: Rebecca Alty Organizations: British Columbia, Firefighters Locations: Canadian, British, Kelowna, Canada, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
The maximum sustained wind speed remained unchanged at 85 mph while spreading "heavy rains" northward over the peninsula. Jamie Rhome Director, U.S. National Hurricane CenterIt was not immediately clear whether officials considered the fatality related to the hurricane, but video posted by local officials showed torrents of water coursing through the town's streets. Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. Hilary brought heavy rain and flooding to Mexico and the southwestern U.S. on Saturday, ahead of the storm's expected Sunday border crossing. Forecasters warned it could dump up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) — a year's worth of rain for some areas — in southern California and southern Nevada.
Persons: Hurricane Hilary, Reuters Hurricane Hilary, Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, Jamie Rhome, Elizabeth Adams, Gavin Newsom, Hilary Organizations: Reuters, Reuters Hurricane, National Weather Service, National Weather Center, National Hurricane, Santa, National Weather Service San Diego, California Gov, Sunday Locations: Armeria, Colima, Mexico, Baja California, Miami, Punta Eugenia, San Diego , California, Mexican, Santa Rosalia, Mulege, Southern California, Santa Catalina, Southern, California, U.S, Canada, Hawaii's, Maui, Lahaina, Nevada
A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco. A Cruise self-driving car was involved in an accident with a San Francisco Fire Department truck just one week after California regulators approved 24-7 robotaxi service in San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department was not immediately available for comment on the matter. California's Public Utility Commission voted 3 to 1 last week to approve the rollout of driverless, fare-collecting vehicles in San Francisco. Self-driving cars from Cruise and Alphabet -subsidiary Waymo had already become regular sights on San Francisco roads in the preceding months.
Persons: Cruise, Waymo, Kyle Vogt, San, San Francisco firefighters, Jeanine Nicholson, Nicholson Organizations: General Motors Corp, San Francisco Fire Department, Twitter, ABC, San Francisco Police Department, CNBC, San Francisco, Francisco Fire, NPR, Cruise, General Motors, Microsoft, Honda, Walmart Locations: San Francisco, California, Tenderloin, Polk, Turk
Aug 18 (Reuters) - A massive wildfire in Canada's western province of British Columbia prompted more evacuation orders early on Friday, as firefighters race against advancing flames to move all residents from the remote northern city of Yellowknife to safety. The evacuation orders were issued after wildfires that were discovered on Tuesday jumped Lake Okanagan, sparking spot wildfires in Kelowna. The massive fire to the northwest of Yellowknife only advanced by around one kilometer on Thursday, officials said, held back by winds. It is now about 15 km away from the city and authorities expect the fires to reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the weekend. Officials in British Columbia, which has suffered unusually intense blazes this year, warned residents to prepare for extreme fire conditions.
Persons: Nobody, Tebbia Teoncey, Jennifer Gauthier, Mike Westwick, Bowinn Ma, Dan Whitcomb, David Ljunggren, Ismail Shakil, Denny Thomas, Stephen Coates, Sharon Singleton Organizations: British Columbia, REUTERS, Yellowknife, City of, Emergency Management, Thomson Locations: British, Yellowknife, Kelowna, Vancouver, Kelowna ., Northwest Territories, Edmonton , Alberta, Canada, British Columbia, City, City of West Kelowna, Ottawa
CNN —A state agency delayed a water management company’s request to make more water available to fight the devastating wildfires in Maui earlier this month, according to letters obtained by CNN. The agency told Tremble that his company first had to ask about impacts on downstream users, according to the letter. Tremble told CNN by that time, his company’s water system manager left the area to evacuate his family and other staff couldn’t be reached. In a follow-up letter, Tremble thanked the chairperson for the prompt response. “This deployment does not suggest that First Deputy Manuel did anything wrong.”The agency declined to comment on whether quicker approval of West Maui Land Company’s request would have helped firefighters.
Persons: Glenn Tremble, Tremble, couldn’t, ” Tremble, , , Josh Green, Kaleo Manuel –, , Manuel, Manuel couldn’t Organizations: CNN, Maui Land Company, Water Resource Management, Honolulu Star, Honolulu Civil, Department of Land, Resources, Department Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina ., Lahaina, Honolulu, West Maui
“Tonight, at least, the fire has behaved and the weather has behaved normally,” Fernando Clavijo, the regional president for the Canary Islands, told reporters on Friday, adding that firefighters had worked intensely to stop the fire’s progress after it moved in an unpredictable manner earlier in the week. Mr. Clavijo said he was hopeful that the forecast would improve, but added that the blaze still was not under control. At least eight municipalities have been affected by the fire, though local authorities on Friday lifted the lockdown order on La Esperanza, a village northeast of Teide National Park, where 3,820 residents had been ordered earlier in the week to shelter in place. The priority on Friday, Mr. Clavijo said, was to confine the fire to an area near the village. For residents closest to the fire, the past few days have been marked by streams of choking smoke and an overcast sky with an orange glow that has been filled with falling ash.
Persons: ” Fernando Clavijo, Clavijo, I’ve, , María Luisa Pacheco, La Orotava Organizations: El Locations: Canary, La Esperanza, Teide, La, Spanish
In pictures: Wildfire on Spain's Tenerife island spreads
  + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: 1 min
PicturesIn pictures: Wildfire on Spain's Tenerife island spreadsFirefighters on Thursday struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 3,800 people.
Locations: Tenerife
CNN —More than 3,000 people have been evacuated since Wednesday as wildfires continue to tear through the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife, a popular tourist destination, the region’s authorities said Thursday in a statement. Forest firefighters work during to extinguish a forest fire in Arafo on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesExtreme heat is growing again in Europe and is expected to peak next week at potentially record-breaking levels. In France, authorities have issued orange heatwave warnings for 19 departments for Friday as temperatures are expected to soar above 35 degrees Celsius. Temperatures will approach 45 degrees Celsius in the typical southern hot spots, areas around Madrid will likely reach 40 degrees Celsius.
Persons: Fernando Clavijo, , haven’t, ” Clavijo, Borja Suarez, Andres Gutierrez Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Anadolu Agency, Getty, France’s, CNN’s Locations: Tenerife, Northern Africa, Hawaii, Canada, Europe, Arafo, Canary Islands, Spain, France, Madrid
So far, at least 111 deaths have been confirmed in the wildfires, according to a release from Maui County. Names of other victims have been released by familiesFirefight continues : Crews are still battling the fires on Maui. “The people that were trying to put out these fires lived in those homes – 25 of our firefighters lost their homes,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said Wednesday. “They watched their homes burn as they fought the fire for other homes in their neighborhood,” she explained. “That is a scar that we will carry for a very long time.”Sarah Salmonese sits where her apartment once stood in Lahaina, Hawaii, on Friday, August 11.
Persons: John Pelletier, ” Pelletier, , Pelletier, Josh Green, CNN’s Wolf, , Brenda Keau, ” Keau, Jeff Hickman, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, ” Hickman, Melva Benjamin, Virginia Dofa, Alfredo Galinato, Robert Dyckman, Buddy Jantoc, Benjamin, Crews, Brad Ventura, ” Biden, Herman Andaya, would’ve, Matthew A, Foster, Richard Bissen, Aina Kohler, I’ve, Kohler, “ It’s, Jonny Varona, They’re, Wade Ebersole, it’s, who’s, ” Ebersole, ” Sarah Salmonese, Go Nakamura, Jae C, Patrick T, Fallon, Rick Bowmer, Justin Sullivan, Lauren Haley, Bryan Anselm, Makalea Ahhee, Yuki Iwamura, Mike Blake, Max Whittaker, Zoltan Balogh, Robert Gauthier, Mengshin Lin, Evelio Contreras, CNN Vixay Phonxaylinkham, Lana, Phonoxaylinkham, Marco Garcia, Claire Rush, Myrna Ah Hee, Sui, Ty O'Neil, Ku'u Kauanoe, ZUMA, Matthew Thayer, Bob Marshall, ” Marshall, Marshall, Jim Kelly, ” Kelly, ” Darren Pai Organizations: CNN, Maui Police, Authorities, Hawaii Gov, Hawaii Department of Defense, Fire, White House, Maui, Maui Emergency Management, Tuesday . U.S . Army National Guard, Staff, KITV, Maui Health, Maui Memorial Medical, New York Times, AP, FBI, Facility, Getty, AP Volunteers, Grace Baptist, Reuters, Volunteers, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Kahului Airport, Technologies, Kahului, AP Helicopters, Hawaii Army National Guard, Hawaii National Guard, Reuters Residents, ZUMA Passengers, Maui News, Whisker Labs, Maui Bird Conservation Center, The Washington, Hawaiian Electric, CNN Sunday Locations: Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, Lahaina, Tuesday ., , Lahaina , Hawaii, Wailuku, AFP, Kula , Hawaii, Kaanapali, Kula, Kihei, West Maui, Grace, Kahului, Napili, Honokowai, Honolulu, Maalaea, California, Las Vegas, Church, Lahaina Hongwanji, Makawao, Western Maui
Canada wildfires: what are the causes and when will it end?
  + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +6 min
Here are some questions and answers about Canada's wildfires, which have charred millions of hectares and polluted the air in that nation and the U.S.WHAT PARTS OF CANADA HAVE WILDFIRES HIT? Wildfires are common in Canada's western provinces, but this year the eastern provinces of Nova Scotia, Quebec and parts of Ontario have also reeled from out-of-control wildfires. This week, the focus returned to the west, as wildfires burned about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Yellowknife, the capital of the vast, sparsely populated Northwest Territories. As of Wednesday, there were 1,054 active wildfires in Canada, including 230 in the Northwest Territories and 669 deemed out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Center. Widespread spring fires across the whole of Canada are also unusual, and research shows fire seasons across North America are getting longer.
Persons: Pat Kane, Mike Westwick, De Beers, Lytton, Fort Smith, Justin Trudeau, Ellen Whitman, David Ljunggren, Divya Rajagopal, Ismail Shakil, Rod Nickel, Jonathan Oatis, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Interagency Forest Fire, Reuters Graphics, Northwest, Enterprise, Northwest Territories, Diamond, Atlantic Canada, Canadian, Canadian Forest Service, Thomson Locations: Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, U.S, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest, Hay, Fort McMurray, United States, Fort, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, East Coast, New York, Washington, Chicago, North America
Svitlana, right, traveled several hours from her village of Kamianske to Stepnohirsk to receive humanitarian aid alongside two other women, Lesya and Natasha. Vitya, a resident of the village of Stepnohirsk, which sits on the front line of the Zaporizhzhia region. Svitlana’s village, Kamianske, sits in a gray zone between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region. Image Members of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service loading animal food and other supplies into a van in Stepnohirsk, Ukraine, fire station this month. He said his home, along with almost every building in Kamianske, had been destroyed by Russian shelling.
Persons: Svitlana, Stepnohirsk, Lesya, Natasha, Vitya, Svitlana’s, , ” Lesya, , ” Natasha, “ I’m, ” Svitlana, Diego Ibarra Sanchez, Serhii, , Vladimir V, Alla Viktorivna Organizations: Ukraine’s, Emergency Service, The New York Times Local, , The New York Times Locations: Kamianske, Stepnohirsk, Svitlana’s, Ukrainian, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Stepnohirsk .
TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Thursday struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a mountainous national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 3,800 people. "The night has been very tough...This is the most complex fire we've had in the Canary Islands in the last 40 years," the region's leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a news conference. [1/5]EIRIF forest firefighters work during the extinction of the forest fire in Arafo on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. Last week, a heatwave in the Canary Islands left many areas bone dry, heightening the risk of wildfires. This summer, firefighters have extinguished a series of forest fires on the islands of Gran Canaria and La Palma, which form part of the Canary Islands archipelago.
Persons: Alba Gil, we've, Fernando Clavijo, Pedro Martinez, Borja Suarez, Clavijo, Teide, Aena, Andrei Khalip, Christina Fincher, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Authorities, Gran Canaria, La, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Tenerife, La Esperanza, Canary, Europe, Canada, Lahaina, Arafo, El Rosario, La Orotava, Spanish, Gran
"We're all one big family in Maui, we call it 'ohana'," said Romero, a 55-year-old retired battalion chief for the island's fire department. While the fires were still burning, residents of nearby Moloka'i skimmed over the narrow strait on jet skis to unload donations on Maui beaches. Firefighters have flown in from Oahu on their own dime to help with relief efforts, Romero said. A nearby veterinary clinic had set up a stand where victims of the fires can bring ailing pets. "If we keep it bottled up inside we're not going to be able to move forward."
Persons: Marco Garcia, Uilani, Louis Romero, Romero, Kapu, Labo, George Vanyi, Jonathan Allen, Jorge Garcia, Sandra Stojanovic, Liliana Salgado, Andrew Hay, Sharon Bernstein, Colleen Jenkins, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Hawaii, REUTERS, Maui, FEMA, Firefighters, Cross, U.S . Department of Veteran Affairs, Ritz, Carlton, Walmart, Thomson Locations: Maui, Honolulu , Hawaii, U.S, LAHAINA, Hawaii, West Maui, Lahaina, Moloka'i, Oahu, Napili
Total: 25