Thousands Flee Homes As Wildfires Rage Across South Australia (global warming is making the wildfires worse and more frequent)

Thousands have fled their homes, as several major wildfires are raging across Southern Australia in what officials are calling the worst fires since 1983, the Guardian reports.
Up to 2,000 firefighters are battling the blaze, with more than a dozen aircraft dumping water onto the fires. Firefighters are struggling and said it could take “days to get the situation under control”. Dry conditions, temperatures as high as 40C, and ghastly winds fanning the flames are aggravating the already grave situation, the Guardian said.

Residents in Adelaide Hills, South Australia, are experiencing the worst of the fires, where flames have destroyed five homes and put hundreds of others in danger, said Daniel Hamilton, a spokesperson for South Australia Country Fire Service, the Guardian reported.

Residents of 19 other communities are also at risk, as a predicted shift in the winds later on Saturday could further intensify the flames. The state has declared a major emergency and told residents to leave, as their lives were at risk.

“If you have decided to stay the fire could become incredibly scary and it could make you change your mind and leave. It could be a catastrophic decision to leave late.” – said South Australia Premier Jay Weatherill.

Although Australia faces wildfires every year, this year has seen the outbreak of the largest bushfires in the state of South Australia since 1983. Environmentalists say global warming is making the wildfires worse and more frequent, the BBC said........................http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150103/1016488675.html3/1/15
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Related:

• Incendies de brousse hors de contrôle dans le sud de l'Australie ...

• Εκατοντάδες πυροσβέστες βοηθούμενοι από αεροσκάφη και δεκάδες πυροσβεστικά οχήματα, δίνουν μάχη με τις φλόγες σε πολλά πύρινα μέτωπα στις πολιτείες της Βικτόριας και της Νότιας Αυστραλίας...

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2013

• 'Catastrophic': Hundreds of wildfires rage in Australia amid record heat wave (VIDEO, PHOTOS RT)

• Australia experiences its hottest two years on record

NASA Satellite Images Reveal Shocking Groundwater Loss in Drought-Stricken California

NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) program has released a series of satellite images, taken in June 2002, June 2008 and June of this year, showing the  stunning groundwater loss in California which is in its third year of record drought.... 

“This trio of images depicts satellite observations of declining water storage in California as seen by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellites,” says NASA. “Colors progressing from green to orange to red represent greater accumulated water loss between April 2002 and June 2014.”

The prolonged drought has impacted everything from agriculture to fisheries to residential use, worsened and prolonged the wildfire season and created conflicts over the use of water resources.
That has included calls for banning water-intensive fracking and disputes over the diversion of river water for the state’s even more water-intensive agriculture sector, primarily in its fertile Central Valley.

“California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin River basins, including the Central Valley, have suffered the greatest losses, in part due to increased groundwater pumping to support agricultural production,” said NASA. “Between 2011 and 2014, the combined river basins have lost 4 trillion gallons of water each year, an amount far greater than California’s 38 million residents use in cities and homes annually.”

Gov. Brown declared a state of emergency in January after the state had its lowest recorded rainfall in its history.

*** GRACE is a collaborative endeavor involving the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas, Austin; NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; the German Space Agency and Germany’s National Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam.

Anastasia Pantsios | October 3, 2014
ecowatch.com
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Related:

• NASA Photographs Show Eastern Basin of Aral Sea Totally Dried 

• Premios Nobel preocupados por "estado catastrófico" del planeta...

• California Experiencing Most Severe Drought Ever Recorded

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• California Wildfires Destroy Homes

European Union helps fight forest fires in Greece (European Commission)

European Commission, Press release, Brussels, 26 August 2014:

Greece is receiving support through the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism to fight the forest fires raging in the central part of the country. France has responded to Greece's request for assistance in a matter of hours – its two fire-fighting planes are already operating in the affected areas.

"Forest fires are a risk we face every summer and this year is no exception; we will continue to support the efforts of Greece to prevent the fire from spreading towards populated areas.

The Commission is grateful to France for its prompt gesture of solidarity; I hope that other Member States will also be able to offer assistance," said Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.

The European Commission's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is in contact with the civil protection authorities of the countries participating in the Mechanism.

The ERCC is actively monitoring the forest fire risks across Europe. It uses national monitoring services and tools such as EFFIS (the European Forest Fire Information System) and satellite imagery to provide an overview of the situation in Europe. Every summer, its experts hold a weekly videoconference with national authorities from countries at greatest risk of forest fires.

Background

The fire that broke out on 24 August in a forest region near Kalabaka, central Greece, has burnt around 400 hectares of land and is still active. Greece has also activated the satellite imagery service of the European Commission. Тhe Copernicus mapping system provides all actors involved in the management of natural and man-made disasters and humanitarian crises with timely and accurate satellite images of the affected areas. It can be activated only by authorised users, e.g. national civil protection authorities, through the ERCC.

The European Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates cooperation in disaster response among 31 European states (EU-28 plus Norway, Iceland, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). The participating countries pool the resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. When activated, the Mechanism coordinates the provision of assistance inside and outside the European Union. The European Commission manages the Mechanism through the ERCC.

The European Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 17 times over the last three summers to respond to forest fires inside and outside Europe. In 2012, for example, Greece has requested assistance at combatting forest fires for three times.

Furthermore, in June 2014 a major EU civil protection exercise, EU PROMETHEUS 2014, took place in Greece, testing cooperation and response capacities of Member States through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Among other things, the participating teams from a number of EU Member States were tested at combatting a huge wildfire near populated areas.

For more information.....................http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-949_en.htm?locale=en

26/7/14

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Related:

• Fighting forest fires in Europe – how it works (European Commission)

California Wildfires Destroy Homes

Firefighters battling two massive fires in Northern California may finally have some relief, with more humid conditions forecast, but thunderstorms could bring more fire-causing lightening.

The two fires have destroyed 11 homes and scorched thousands of hectares of land since Friday.
State fire spokeswoman Captain Amy Head said fire crews in Northern California were trying to beat back wildfires burning near the town of Burney in Shasta County on Monday.


Burney residents faced possible evacuation as the two blazes, now within a few kilometers of one another, threatened their town.

The fires started at about the same time in Lassen National Forest. They have destroyed hundreds of kilometers of forest, burned down at least 8 homes and now threaten to destroy more buildings.

Northern California has been suffering through one of the worst droughts on record.

East of the state's capital Sacramento, hundreds of homes were evacuated along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range after the so-called Sand Fire burned ten residences and seven other buildings.

The blaze, which fire officials said may have been started by a vehicle driving over dry vegetation, is only 35 percent contained as firefighters face dry conditions, high winds, and triple-digit temperatures.

A second fire west of Yosemite National Park quadrupled in size overnight to consume 859 hectares. It forced the evacuation of about 100 homes in the community of Foresta, where one house was destroyed.
The park remains open.
Federal fire officials are working to contain 19 blazes in six western states, with state and local teams battling dozens more throughout the region.
 http://www.voanews.com/content/california-wildfires-destroy-homes/1971693.html
4/8/14
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Fighting forest fires in Europe – how it works (European Commission)

European Commission, MEMO, Brussels, 4 August 2014:

Every year there are devastating forest fires in Europe, destroying thousands of hectares of forests. The South European countries are at higher risk, but no European country is immune. When the fire gets too big for a country to extinguish it on its own, the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism can be activated to coordinate the response from participating states.

Joint and coordinated response

When national capacities to respond to forest fires are surpassed, other EU countries often show solidarity by sending assistance in the form of water bombing aircraft, helicopters, fire-fighting equipment and personnel.

The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) is the emergency response hub of the European Commission. The centre co-ordinates assistance on the European level in the case of disasters and in this way ensures that help is efficient and effective.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism can also be used to facilitate and co-finance the transport of assistance to the affected area. 

Prepared for the forest fire season

The ERCC is actively monitoring the forest fire risk and incidence across Europe. It uses national monitoring services and tools such EFFIS (the European Forest Fire Information System) which provides an overview of data that Member States collect through their national forest fire programmes.

Before the forest fires season, the ERCC organises meetings with all the participating states in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for an exchange of information on the state of preparedness for the upcoming forest fires season.

Over the summer period, the ERCC organises weekly video conferences with the countries that are at high risk of forest fires and whose national capacities could get overwhelmed. Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Greece, Italy and France are the most fire prone countries in Europe.

In addition, experts from Member States who are seconded to the ERCC every summer contribute to its work and maintain regular contacts with national civil protection authorities. 

Tackling forest fires

The European Civil Protection Mechanism was activated 16 times over the last three summers to respond to forest fires inside and outside Europe.

• During the 2012 forest fire season nine requests for assistance were received, and in 2013 four. During the past two summers, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Albania, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece and, Portugal activated the Mechanism requesting aerial means. The satellite mapping service has also been activated in response to forest fires related emergencies.

About the EU Civil Protection Mechanism

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism facilitates the cooperation in disaster response among 31 European states (28 EU Member States, FYROM, Iceland and Norway). The participating countries pool the resources that can be made available to disaster-stricken countries all over the world. 

Since its launch in 2001, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has monitored over 300 disasters and has received more than 180 requests for assistance. It intervened in some of the most devastating disasters the world has faced, like Hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), the triple-disaster in Japan (2011), and typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines (2013). 

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-503_en.htm?locale=en

4/8/14

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'Catastrophic': Hundreds of wildfires rage in Australia amid record heat wave (VIDEO, PHOTOS RT)

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A heat wave that has already caused devastating fires on the Island state of Tasmania, with 100 people still missing, has now moved to mainland Australia and is reaping havoc in New South Wales, as the heat wave looks to smash records.
­In some areas temperatures have shot up by as much as 20C in three hours and combined with 50 mph winds have created disastrous fire conditions.

Right across Australia records have been broken by the heat wave and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has been forced to add colors to its forecast charts to take account of temperatures of 50-54 degrees Celsius.
Australia’s all-time record of 50.7 degrees; set in January 1960 at Oodnadatta in South Australia is likely to be smashed over the coming days. On Tuesday, in some places temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius were recorded.
“The scale has just been increased today and I would anticipate it is because the forecast coming from the bureau’s model is showing temperatures in excess of 50 degrees,” David Jones , the BoM’s head of climate monitoring, told Fairfax newspapers.
Australia as a whole experienced its hottest day on record on Monday, with average maximum temperatures across the entire country reaching 40.33 degrees breaking the previous record of 40.17 degrees set in 1972.
More than 130 fires are already blazing away in New South Wales (NSW), where fire officials said conditions were among the worst they had ever seen for wildfires. Fires had already burnt more than 30,000 hectares of land across NSW.
There are also wildfires burning in Victoria with 20 homes evacuates in Chepstowe, west of Australia’s second city Melbourne.
.rt.com
8/1/13

Houses destroyed by a bushfire are seen in ruins in Dunalley, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of Hobart, January 5, 2013. (Reuters/Chris Kidd/Pool)
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Land continues to burn in Tasmania where blazes last weekend destroyed 90 homes and 20,000 hectares of farm land and forest.
Officials on the island are still unsure of the fate of 100 people who went missing since last week, after fires destroyed the town of Dunalley.
In the current terrifying conditions, fires can become so hot that they create their own lightning storms, which can in turn ignite more fires, and ember showers can fly up to 15 miles ahead of a fire, igniting new fires in areas not yet alight. Experts warn that the intense heat being generated by the fires can kill people before the flames even reach them.
The conditions hark back to Black Saturday in the state of Victoria in 2009, when 172 people were killed by fires. This time emergency services are not taking any risks and have already closed national parks, ordered tourists out of campsites and are following the movements of known arsonists.
“We are at a catastrophic level and clearly in those areas leaving early is your safest option,” New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
The Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said that it is important for people to keep themselves safe and listen to local authorities and their warnings.  She also stressed that the fires were being called catastrophic for a reason.
The Bega Valley is one of the areas authorities are most worried about, where fast moving scrub and grass fires are threatening homes.
Properties were under threat in the city of Wagga Wagga where the local highway has been closed. The Southern Ranges, the Riverina and Shoalhaven have also been given a catastrophic rating.
The heat, wind and dryness – ideal conditions for wildfires – follow a record four months of dry weather, allowing mere smoldering stumps and embers from areas already burned to blow into unburnt country.
However, the BoM is predicting cooler conditions to arrive across NSW by Wednesday morning.

This undated handout picture provided by New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW Rural Fire Service) on January 8, 2013 shows smoke billowing as a bushfire burns near Green Point in New South Wales. (AFP Photo/ NSW Rural Fire Service)

This undated handout aerial picture provided by New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW Rural Fire Service) on January 8, 2013 shows a bushfire burning 8km south west of Naradhan, north of Griffith in New South Wales. (AFP Photo/ NSW Rural Fire Service)

Smoke rises from the Yarrabin bushfire, burning out of control near Cooma, about 100km (62 miles) south of Canberra January 8, 2013. (Reuters/Tim Wimborne)

This aerial photograph taken on January 5, 2013 shows the devastation to property between Dunalley and Boomer Bay after bush fires swept through the area. (AFP Photo/Pool/Chris Kidd)