Brazil tells landowners to stop setting fires in Amazon “climate emergency”
Sao Paulo, BrazilReuters Brazil’s government told ranchers and farmers on Friday to stop setting fire to the Amazon rainforest as clouds of dense gray smoke make the air increasingly unbreathable in the northern city of Manaus, threatening sanctions if they do burn areas of land. “Fire is not natural in the Amazon, it comes from […]
Maui tourism, an economic mainstay, sparks anger amid fire ruin
Reuters The incongruous sight of tourists enjoying Maui’s tropical beaches while search-and-rescue teams trawl building ruins and waters for victims of the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century has outraged some residents. They have vented on social media, posting video of tourists enjoying holiday activities like snorkeling while the death toll in the […]
Updated: Maui officials defend decision not to sound sirens during wildfire
Updated: 12:30pmLahaina, Hawaii, USReuters Maui’s emergency management chief on Wednesday defended his agency’s decision against sounding sirens during last week’s deadly wildfire amid questions about whether doing so might have saved lives. Herman Andaya, administrator of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, said sirens in Hawaii are used to alert people to tsunamis. Using it […]
Massive wildfire moving closer to capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories
Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, CanadaReuters A huge wildfire in northern Canada is creeping closer to the capital of the Northwest Territories and could reach the outskirts of Yellowknife by the weekend unless rain comes, the territorial government said on Wednesday. Canada is enduring its worst-ever wildfire season with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the […]
Maui’s displaced grow restless as search for fire victims drags on
Kahului, Hawaii, USReuters A week after a ferocious wildfire ravaged the Maui resort town of Lahaina, anxious residents were still awaiting news of hundreds of missing loved ones on Tuesday, as teams with cadaver dogs conducted a painstaking block-by-block search of the ashes. Local, state and federal rescue workers have urged patience. The teams were […]
Maui search is 25 per cent complete as death toll from wildfires grows to 99
Kahului, Hawaii Reuters Search teams with cadaver dogs have combed through 25 per cent of the Lahaina disaster zone from the Maui wildfires, discovering the remains of a 99th victim on Monday, but perhaps hundreds more people were unaccounted for nearly a week after the disaster. Fueled by winds gusting up to 128 kph, an […]
Maui wildfires death toll hits 93 amid frantic search for the missing
Kahului, Hawaii, USReuters The death toll from the Maui wildfires reached 93 on Sunday as relatives of the missing frantically searched for signs their loved ones may still be alive. Hawaii Governor Josh Green on Sunday likened the burnt-out city of Lahaina to a “war zone” after the fast-moving blaze engulfed the northwest coast of […]
Record-setting Canadian wildfires could persist for rest of “marathon” summer
Ottawa, CanadaReuters Record-setting wildfires in Canada could potentially continue burning at an abnormally high rate for several more weeks, though the spread of blazes is likely to start diminishing in September, according to federal projections released on Friday. Forest fires have engulfed parts of nearly all 13 Canadian provinces and territories this year, forcing home […]
Maui wildfire death toll hits 80 as questions raised over warnings
Maalaea, Hawaii, USReuters The death toll from the Maui wildfires rose to 80 on Friday as search teams combed through the smoldering ruins of Lahaina, and Hawaiian officials sought to determine how the inferno spread so rapidly through the historic resort town with little warning. The fires became the deadliest natural disaster in the state’s […]
Explainer – How did the Hawaii wildfires start? What to know about the Maui and Big Island blazes
Reuters Wildfires on Hawaii’s Maui island and Big Island have killed at least 55 people, forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate, and devastated the historic resort city of Lahaina. Here are some key questions and answers about the disaster. A view of the charred remains after wildfires engulfed the historic town of Lahaina, […]