Current forest fires in Canada and The United States
Forest Fires in United States and Canada
06 July 2015
An estimated 7,900 residents from La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band have now been evacuated under an order issued jointly by local leaders and the provincial government, which reported on Sunday the Egg fire had moved within five kilometres of the La Ronge town site.
Numbers to 05 July:
7,900 evacuees are in addition to the 5,600-plus evacuees receiving support from the provincial Ministry of Social Services.
5,698 evacuees have registered with the ministry and are receiving help from Red Cross.
Number would likely increase because many evacuees who had first opted to stay with family or friends are deciding to register for support at evacuation centres.
Details:
North Battleford 385.
Prince Albert 2,293.
Saskatoon 1,179.
Regina 1,221.
Source: www.cbr.ca
On June 28, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite captured this image of wildfires burning in Alberta, north of the Athabasa oil sands. Actively burning areas, detected by the thermal bands on MODIS, are outlined in red, while forests appear dark green.
A combination of lightning, parched forests, and strong winds have fueled the fires. According to the Canadian government, 27 uncontrolled fires were burning in Alberta on June 28. Thirty were burning to the east in Saskatchewan.
The 2015 fire season got off to an unusually early start in Canada when blazes broke out in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta in late May. The Edmonton Sun has called the current fire season Albertas worst in five years.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory
More than 100 new fires started over the weekend of June 20 to June 21, 2015, according to a report from Alaska Wildland Fire Information. The growing number of fires meant that smoke became an increasing concern for air quality in the states populated regions.
On June 22, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite acquired this view of smoke across Alaska. Red outlines indicate areas where MODIS detected unusually warm surface temperatures associated with fire. Active fires surround Fairbanks, so even a change in wind direction would not bring relief from the gases and particles that can cause respiratory and other health problems.
Still, firefighters have made progress on some Alaskan fires including the Sockeye fire, about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of Fairbanks (obscured by clouds in this image). That fire was 90 percent contained, according to a report issued on June 23. However, the report also noted that the weather forecast called for warm and dry weather, which could mean even more smoke.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory
Higher-than-usual temperatures and a reduced snowpack have been affecting Alaska and Canadian territories this season.
In Alaska, 562 fires have scorched more than 250.000 hectares of land with a record of 6 active fires in one day.
The Sockeye Fire burned 55 houses and triggered thousands of evacuatios.
Experts say that fires may continue to burn and smoke populated areas increasign the risk of lung related deceases.
WildlandFire relatednews from the Media: Note: The hyperlinks on the left side of each news are password-protected (User ID and password to enter the GFMC database are
available for partners of GFMC). The links on the right side (in brackets) are leading to the original news source; sometimes these news are expiring rather swiftly – a reason for the
establishment of the internal GFMC database):
-
USA: NATIONAL FOREST: Grants available for landowners to lower fire risk (published by www.pe.com 30 June 2015)
-
USA: Yosemite forest fire example of possible things to come (published by http://phys.org 30 June 2015)
-
USA: Washington wildfire leads to ammonia leak (published by http://kfor.com 29 June 2015)
-
USA: Arizona Settles Cases With Relatives of 19 Who Died Fighting Wildfire (published by www.nytimes.com 29 June 2015)
-
USA: Lake fire grew after private drone flights disrupted air drops (published by www.latimes.com 25 June 2015)
-
USA: Alaska Entering New Era for Wildfires (published by www.climatecentral.org 24 June 2015)
-
USA: California’s Lake Fire Burns Massive ‘Scars’ into Forest (published by www.livescience.com 24 June 2015)
-
Canada: 1,000-year-old Elaho Giant tree in danger from B.C. wildfire (published by www.vancouversun.com 23 June 2015)
-
USA: People Flying Drones Over Wildfires Causing Problems (published by www.yourcentralvalley.com 22 June 2015)
-
USA: Firefighting train used in Ariz. wildfire (published by www.firerescue1.com 21 June 2015)
-
USA: Another View: Fires create vibrant forests (published by www.sacbee.com 20 June 2015)
-
USA: Salt cedar fueling Arizona’s wildfires (published by http://tucson.com 20 June 2015)
-
USA: How wildfires get their names (published by www.tucsonnewsnow.com 18 June 2015)
-
USA: Brush fires no match for UCF tactics (published by www.centralfloridafuture.com 18 June 2015)
-
USA: Researcher finds need for more prescribed burning (published by http://helenair.com 17 June 2015)
-
USA: Mystery solved: Why large dinosaurs avoided the tropics for millions of years (published by www.foxnews.com 17 June 2015)
-
USA: NASA’s heat shield tech could save firefighters’ lives (published by www.engadget.com 17 June 2015)
-
USA: Scientists Fly Drones to Map Sagebrush for Wildfire Strategy (published by http://abcnews.go.com 17 June 2015)
-
USA: Clever infographic outlines wildfire history in the American West (published by http://ucanr.edu 16 June 2015)
-
USA: Sockeye Fire destroys 20 structures; 1,700 in evacuation zone (published by www.ktuu.com 14 June 2015)
-
USA: Letter: Healthy forest management will save Oregon from serious wildfire (published by www.bendbulletin.com 14 June 2015)
-
USA: Westermans bill on U.S. forest management gains ground (published by https://countieswithnationalforests.wordpress.com 12 June 2015)
-
USA: Sacramento Firefighters, PG&E Test Technique To Spare Utility Poles From Flames (published by http://sacramento.cbslocal.com10 June 2015)
-
USA: Southwest, Northwest could face catastrophic wildfires (published by www.mlive.com 10 June 2015)
-
USA: Drones, emerging infrared tech may be future of wildfire detection (published by www.ksl.com 09 June 2015)
-
Canada: Heavy wildfire smoke subsiding in the north, blowing east (published by www.cbc.ca 09 June 2015)
-
USA: Victims in plane crash were on a wildfire related mission (published by http://krqe.com 09 June 2015)
-
USA: More than 750 students attended the Minnesota Wildfire Academy’s 15th event (published by www.grandforksherald.com 03 June 2015)
-
USA: If you fly, we can’t: USDA launches campaign to ground drones at wildfires (published by www.fox10phoenix.com 03 June 2015)
-
USA: Oakland accepts divisive $4 million federal grant to cut down trees to prevent deadly fires (published by www.usnews.com 03 June 2015)
-
USA: Americas Forests Are Facing a Wildfire Crisis (published by www.nationaljournal.com 02 June 2015)
-
For more media reports see GFMC Media page: https://gfmc.online/media-highlights-on-fire-policies-and-politics.html