Category: Global

Australia Forest Fire Global International RFMRC-SEA

Australia fires: NSW towns cut off by bushfire as Queensland residents told to leave

Australian Associated Press |

Fire north of Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast doubles in size, burning through more than 11,560 hectares
• ‘Absolutely suffocating’: how are you affected by smoke haze from Australia’s bushfires?

 

Residents face a nervous wait on Monday night as gusty, strong winds whip-up a blaze in the New South Wales Shoalhaven area which remains at emergency warning level.

The fire north of Batemans Bay has burnt through more than 16,000 hectares and was spreading quickly in a north-easterly direction towards coastal communities.

(more…)

Activities RFMRC-SEA Global INDONESIA RFMRC-SEA

Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Bambang Hero Saharjo, Bogor Agricultural University, is the foremost expert on illegal and destructive forest and land fires in Indonesia, and the winner of the 2019 Maddox Prize

12 November 2019

Maddox Prize 2019

Bambang Hero Saharjo, who is the Indonesian lead expert witness on environmentally catastrophic peatland fires has been awarded the 2019 John Maddox Prize for his courage and integrity in standing up for sound science in the face of harassment, intimidation, and law suits.

(more…)

Brazil Global International RFMRC-SEA

This Is How The Million-Dollar Business Of Criminal Deforestation In The Amazon Works

BuzzFeed News visited one of the regions worst affected by fires in the Amazon to see how illegal deforestation is paving the way for a global environmental crisis.
Tatiana Farah | September 4, 2019

 

APUÍ, Brazil — A vigorous and incredibly lucrative trade in land for livestock is fueling the fires that have devastated the Amazon and caused an international outcry.

BuzzFeed News toured one of the areas most affected by fires in the Amazon and found that, according to farmers, one hectare of land cleared for cattle is changing hands for 20 times the price of the same area with standing forest.

(more…)

Forest Fire Global International RFMRC-SEA Wildfire

The Amazon, Siberia, Indonesia: A World of Fire

By Kendra Pierre-Louis
The growing intensity of wildfires and their spread to new corners of the globe raises fears that climate change is exacerbating the dangers.

Want climate news in your inbox? Sign up here for Climate Fwd:, our email newsletter.

In South America, the Amazon basin is ablaze. Halfway around the world in central Africa, vast stretches of savanna are going up in flame. Arctic regions in Siberia are burning at a historic pace.

While the Brazilian fires have grown into a full-blown international crisis, they represent only one of many significant areas where wildfires are currently burning around the world. Their increase in severity and spread to places where fires were rarely previously seen is raising fears that climate change is exacerbating the danger.

(more…)

Global International RFMRC-SEA

Putin orders Russian military to fight forest fires in Siberia

By Jim Heintz The Associated Press
31 July 2019

The Russian military on Wednesday joined efforts to fight forest fires that have engulfed nearly 30,000 square kilometers of territory in Siberia and the Russian Far East — an area the size of Belgium.

The move, which includes sending military transport planes and helicopters that can drop water on fires, came after an order from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(more…)

Forest Fire Global International RFMRC-SEA Technology

These scientists are setting a forest on fire — and studying it with drones

By: Alexandra Witze | 28 May 2019

 

Data from the blaze in Utah could improve models of how wildfire smoke spreads.

Sometime in late June, if all goes to plan, a helicopter will hover above a thickly forested slope in Utah and set it ablaze. The goal is to clear out dead conifer trees to allow quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) to regain a foothold in this high-altitude national forest. But the blaze could also help scientists better understand wildfires.

(more…)

Global International Resources RFMRC-SEA

Clearing dead timber could prevent forest fires, experts say

by | 28 May 2019

 

A new restoration project proposed by Manti-La Sal National Forest will strip dead and diseased trees from a swath of Utah about the size of Bryce Canyon National Park.

The idea is to take out the most volatile fuel for potential wildfires which have grown in size, frequency and cost to fight.

(more…)

Canada Global International RFMRC-SEA

Warmer summer expected in the West spells bad news for forest fires

By: Justine Hunter  | 28 Mei 2019
HANDOUT/Reuters

 

With the wildfire season already under way in British Columbia and Alberta, Environment Canada is predicting a long, hot summer to come.

The wildfire threat has already forced evacuations in northwestern Alberta and central British Columbia, and the preliminary outlook for this summer points to worsening conditions, said David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s senior climatologist.

(more…)

Global International RFMRC-SEA

Weather conditions remain a concern for northern Alberta firefighters but crews keeping flames at bay

By: The Canadian Press |
Chris Schwarz/The Canadian Press

 

Warmer temperatures, gusty winds and no rain continued to cause unpredictable conditions for firefighters in northern Alberta on Monday, but officials said measures to keep flames away from threatened communities were working.

The largest blaze in northern Alberta remained about three kilometres southwest of High Level, where crews have been bulldozing, back-burning and water bombing to ensure flames don’t creep closer to the town.

(more…)

Europe Global International RFMRC-SEA

EU establishes initial firefighting fleet for next forest fire season

By European Interest  | 21 May 2019

 

To prepare for the risk of forest fires during the upcoming summer, the Commission is launching today the first fleet of firefighting aircraft under the new rescEU system to tackle natural disasters. So far seven firefighting airplanes and six helicopters will be part of the rescEU fleet during an initial transition period, and the Commission is (more…)