Important Takeaways:
- New Mexico Wildfires Force Evacuation of Thousands, 1,400 Buildings Destroyed, One Dead
- Savage New Mexico wildfires near Ruidoso led to the evacuation of approximately 8,000 residents. At least one person died and more than 1,400 structures were burned in the South Fork and Salt Fires. The fires consumed more than 23,000 acres by Wednesday morning.
- According to an EverythingLubbock.com article, some 8,000 residents near Ruidoso were ordered to evacuate as the South Fork Fire is zero percent contained.
- One Ruidoso resident, Christy Hood, a real estate agent, told the Associated Press that Governor Michelle Grisham’s state of emergency declaration and evacuation order came so quickly that she and her husband, Richard, only had time to grab their two children and two dogs.
- “As we were leaving, there were flames in front of me and to the side of me,” she told the AP. “And all the animals were just running — charging — trying to get out.”
- More than 1,400 homes, businesses, and other structures fell victim to the ravaging flames
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Authorities trying to stop the out of control bushfires threatening New South Wales Australia have doubled the amount of men on the front lines to 3,000.
But the biggest threat is coming outside the flames for the brave firefighters.
Forecasters are calling for excessively high heat, very low humidity and high winds that threaten to accelerate the growth of the fires. The head of the Rural Fire Service told the BBC that the conditions facing firefighters on Wednesday will be “as bad as it gets.”
“It’s going to be a horror day in terms of the weather,” Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said. “Could be a horror day in terms of the fire.”
A total of 59 fires are burning in the state of New South Wales and the number of fires deemed “uncontrolled” has risen from 13 to 19 in the last 24 hours.
Fire officials have stated on television and radio that any resident near the fires should leave not only for their safety but to stop them from hampering the efforts of firefighters to save towns.
In a drastic attempt to control the bushfires burning toward their nation’s largest city, Australian firefighters have deliberately caused two of the biggest fires to merge.
The back burning operations near the Blue Mountains in New South Wales state were done with the expectation that weather conditions will continue to deteriorate and hamper efforts to control the flames. Currently 60 bushfires are burning in the area with 13 completely uncontained.
New South Wales Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shame Fitzsimmons told the BBC the joining of two fires at State Mine and Mount Victoria were done to keep the fires from joining with a third fire.
“We are seeing positive results of these very deliberate, very targeted, very decisive strategies being deployed particularly in relation to back-burning operations,” Fitzsimmons said. Over 1,500 firefighters are now on the scene fighting the blazes.
Parts of Sydney, the nation’s largest city, have been covered in a smoky haze for much of the week and air quality has been at dangerous levels. One man has died as a result of the flames and thousands have either fled their homes or are preparing for an evacuation if the flames continue to move toward the city.
Police say they have been able to determine that two of the bushfires were started by an 11-year-old boy.
Uncontrolled wildfires continue to rage across Australia and officials say there is a chance the flames could threaten the country’s largest city.
The government of New South Wales, the largest state in Australia, declared a state of emergency as forecasters are calling for high winds and temperatures to continue. The early start for the Australian bushfire season has already killed one person and have caused thousands to flee their homes and property.
While cooler weather had allowed firefighters to get the total amount of blazes down to 60 by Thursday, rural fire service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the conditions are rapidly deteriorating. Other officials told the BBC that these fires are the biggest threat they’ve seen in over 40 years.
The Blue Mountains and Hawksbury communities west and north of Sydney are facing “unparalleled risk” according to local officials and embers from the flames have jumped the Nepean River from the foot of the mountains near Sydney’s suburban outskirts.
Police are preparing for mandatory evacuations.
“At the end of the day we hope to have buildings standing,” state police commissioner Alan Clarke told the London Daily Telegraph, “but if we don’t have buildings standing we don’t want bodies in them.”
The deadly Yarnell Arizona area wildfire that killed 19 firefighters has officially been designated as half contained. Over 600 firefighters are now on the front line of the fire that has burned over 13 square miles.
And as their brothers-in-arms are paying tribute to the fallen firefighters, local officials have stated that they believe it’s possible residents who refused to listen to evacuation orders died in the flames. They will not be able to get an official death toll until the flames are extinguished. Continue reading →
Intense rescue operations are still underway after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake caused massive devastation to Indonesia’s Aceh province. Officials say that quake shook the ground for at least 15 seconds in some of the worst hit areas.
Officials say the death toll is 24 and very likely to rise with more than 200 confirmed injured in the quake. In addition to damage from the quake that included flattening houses, landslides buried other homes. Continue reading →
The Yarnell, Arizona blaze that killed 19 firefighters has quadrupled in size since the deaths.
The incidents with the firefighters is the largest single loss of emergency personnel in the U.S. since 9/11. It is the third deadliest loss of personnel in a wildfire in U.S. history. Continue reading →
A fast moving wildfire has taken the lives of at least 19 firefighters in an area 85 miles northwest of Phoenix, Arizona.
According to officials on the scene, members of the “Prescott Granite Mountain Hotshots” were on the front lines of the fire when somehow there was a shift that trapped the firefighters in the middle of the flames. Continue reading →
