Firefighters tackle blaze at Strensall Common nature reserve
Pictures taken near to the blaze show large plumes of smoke rising above the trees.Strensall Common is a nature reserve about six miles (10km) from York city centre.
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Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Harrowing moment Portuguese pensioner is dragged away as she watches her house burn in ferocious wildfires - as deadly blazes rage on in Iberian peninsular
This is the harrowing moment a Portuguese pensioner is dragged away by a fire marshal as she watches her house burn in ferocious wildfires, as deadly blazes continue to rage on in the Iberian Peninsular. Some 216,000 hectares of land has burned in Portugal and two firefighters have died as the country battles a number of 'uncontrollable' blazes. Meanwhile in Spain, where one in eight weather stations nationwide hit peaks of at least 42C, deadly wildfires have ravaged 348,000 hectares, bringing the death toll up to four. In the horrifying video, a screaming woman can be seen being dragged away by a fire safety marshal as she refuses to leave her home. As the pensioner urgently hoses down her garden, she is forced to evacuate the area, despite pleading with the warden to leave her alone and let he stay put. 'I can't leave my house! No! No!' she shouts, before begging: 'Let me go close my doors.' The marshal drags her away to safety, saying: 'There is no time!' In Portugal, the minister for internal affairs extended a state of alert until Sunday as 4,000 firefighters struggle to contain the wildfires raging on multiple fronts. In the horrifying video, a screaming woman can be seen being dragged away by a fire safety marshal as she refuses to leave her home The government in Lisbon activated the EU's civil protection mechanism on Friday with a special request for four Canadair water-bombing planes. The former mayor of a Portuguese town, Carlos Damaso, died around 7pm on Sunday as he fought a fire in Vila Franca do Deão. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portugal's president, offered his 'heartfelt condolences'. The fire started in Pêra do Moço, in the municipality of Guarda, went out of control because of a lack of resources with villages eclipsed by flames and firefighters battling strong winds. There have been seven major blazes across the country, including in Tabuaço, Trancos, Sirarelhos, Sátão, Arganil, Vilarinho do Monte and Ermidas do Sado. In neighbouring Spain, raging wildfires tore through an additional 30,000 hectares of land in the west in less than 24 hours, satellite data showed Tuesday, but cooler temperatures have raised hopes of containment. Some 373,000 hectares have been scorched in Spain this year as of 7am Tuesday, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. The new national record is the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches. The flames burn trees during a forest fire that started five days ago near the Aldeia de Piodao, in Arganil, and spreads to Silvares, Portugal, 18 August 2025 A fourth person was killed when a firefighting truck overturned on a steep forest road on Sunday. It marks the country's worst fire season since records began in 2006, surpassing 2022, when 306,000 hectares were consumed by flames. The government is deploying a further 500 soldiers to battle the wildfires that have torn through parched woodland during a prolonged spell of scorching weather - bringing the total to nearly 2,000 troops. The bulk of the devastation has come from massive fires that have been burning for more than a week in the northwestern provinces of Zamora and Leon, Galicia's Ourense province, and Caceres in the western region of Extremadura. Authorities have evacuated thousands of residents from dozens of villages. Since August 12, 31,130 have been displaced from their homes. On August 18, more than 40 outbreaks were recorded, with 26 active blazes in Castile and León, and 12 forest fires in Galicia's Ourense province. Residents said they were frustrated with what they regarded as poor preparation and limited resources for the fires, which are now in their second week. 'No one's shown up here, nobody,' Patricia Vila, 42, told AFPTV in the village of Vilamartin de Valdeorras in Ourense province of Galicia. 'Not a single damn helicopter, not one plane, has come to drop water and cool things down a bit.' Signs of the fires were everywhere in the province, from ashen forests and blackened soil to destroyed homes, with thick smoke forcing people to wear masks. Firefighters battled the flames as locals in just shorts and T-shirts used water from hoses and buckets to try to stop the spread. 'Homes are still under threat so we have lockdowns in place and are carrying out evacuations,' the head of the Galician regional government Alfonso Rueda said. Several major roads are closed, and rail services between Madrid and Galicia have been suspended. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was expected to visit fire-hit areas in Zamora and Caceres on Tuesday. He warned the country was at 'extreme risk' of new wildfires, particularly in the north and west. Spain was expecting the arrival of two Dutch water-dumping planes that were to join aircraft from France and Italy already helping Spanish authorities under a European cooperation agreement. A handout photo made available by the Spanish Minister of Defense shows a firefighter working to extinguish a forest fire in Oimbra, Ourense, Galicia, Spain, 19 August 2025 Firefighters from other countries are also expected to arrive in the region in coming days, Spain's Civil Protection Agency chief Virginia Barcones told public broadcaster RTVE. Meanwhile, Portugal is receiving air support from Sweden and Morocco. But the size and severity of the fires and the intensity of the smoke - visible from space - were making 'airborne action difficult,' Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles told TVE. 'It's a very difficult, very complicated situation,' she added. 'We had to run away because the fire was coming in from everywhere-everywhere, above us, below us, all around,' said Isidoro, 83, in Vilamartin de Valdeorras. National rail operator Renfe said it suspended Madrid-Galicia high-speed train services scheduled for Sunday due to the fires. Galician authorities advised people to wear face masks and limit their time spent outdoors to avoid inhaling smoke and ash. While officials warned that the blazes remain far from extinguished, the end of a 16-day heatwave has improved conditions for firefighters. Maximum temperatures have dropped by 10 to 12 degrees Celsius and humidity levels have risen, the central government's representative in Castile and Leon, Nicanor Sen, said. 'These changes are facilitating and improving the conditions to gain control of the fires,' he told public broadcaster TVE. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the country had endured 24 days of weather conditions of 'unprecedented severity' with high temperature and strong winds. 'We are at war, and we must triumph in this fight,' he added. Officials in both countries expressed hope that the weather would turn to help tackle the fires. Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists say that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in parts of Europe, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. On Sunday, more than 4,000 firefighters and more than 1,300 vehicles were deployed, as well as 17 aircraft, the country's Civil Protection Agency said. The silhoutte of a Portuguese local is seen as he briefly turns his back to the fire that burns trees and vegetation behind him The scorched area of forest in Portugal so far this year is 17 times higher than in 2024, at around 139,000 hectares, according to preliminary calculations by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, a government body. Greece, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania have also requested help from the EU's firefighting force in recent days to deal with forest fires. The force has already been activated as many times this year as in all of last year's summer fire season. In Turkey, where recent wildfires have killed 19 people, parts of the historic region that includes memorials to World War I's Gallipoli campaign were evacuated Sunday as blazes threatened homes in the country's northwest. Six villages were evacuated as a precautionary measure, the governor of Canakkale province, Omer Toraman, said.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Will Hurricane Erin bring 600-mile rainstorms to the UK? Met Office issue forecast for end of dry spell
Nationwide rain could bring an end to the UK's ongoing dry spell in just a few days as Hurricane Erin continues to advance over the Atlantic Ocean. Upgraded to category four on Monday, the hurricane is threatening to bring severe storms and waves to the Caribbean and the east coast of the US in the coming days. This atmospheric activity is likely to bring a 'changeable' period of weather to the UK in the coming days, the Met Office 's long-term forecast said, especially in the North and West. Independent forecasters predicted that countrywide rain could begin to hit the country from Wednesday 27 August, with storms stretching as far as 600 miles as most of the nation is hit. At its heaviest this rain could reach around 5mm an hour, but most regions will see between 0.2 and 3mm. The Met Office said the chance of widely wetter and windier weather like storms developing is 'small', but admits it is 'highly uncertain' at this stage. The cause of the uncertainty is the area of low pressure that Hurricane Erin will send towards the UK from across the Atlantic. This leads to unsettled weather conditions, while high pressure causes settled and fine weather conditions. Brits will likely enjoy fine and dry weather owing to high pressure over the bank holiday, which will be 'increasingly eroded' by the low pressure from the West in the following days, the Met Office said. After Hurricane Erin has travelled northwards, past the eastern side of Canada, 'it's likely to push its way across the Atlantic,' said Alex Burkill from the Met Office. This can 'really play havoc with the forecast confidence for what's going to happen as we go through next week', he added. Forecasts are likely to become clearer in the coming days. The UK has seen back-to-back heatwaves this summer, as European nations across the continent also grapple with high heat. The Met Office has said that summer 2025 may is shaping up to be the UK's hottest on record, according to provisional statistics. Met Office scientist, Emily Carlisle, said: 'It's looking like this summer is on track to be one of the warmest, if not 'the' warmest, since the series began in 1884. What's striking is the consistency of the warmth. June and July were both well above average and even outside of heatwaves, temperatures have remained on the warmer side.' In the coming week, dry weather is set to continue for most of the UK following last week's high heats. Parts of the country could see temperatures reach 27C on Monday and Tuesday. A northeasterly breeze means northern and eastern parts of the UK will be cooler on these days, reaching the low 20s. The continued dry spell comes after officials warned England was suffering from 'nationally significant' water shortfalls, despite rain in July. Sunday's highest temperature was 27.7C in Somerset, while West Sussex and Inverness in Scotland also reached 27C.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Why your morning commute takes longer in hot weather
Several UK train companies have warned customers to expect delays to their journeys due to the weather - but not the kind you may expect. Rather than storms that so often cause disruption to our railways, it is the hot and dry weather that is sparking issues. Train operators are trying to deal with dried-out and shrunk clay soil on which its rail tracks sit, as the UK experiences one of the hottest summers it has ever seen. This clay causes uneven tracks, making it necessary for train operators to slow down their trains for safety reasons. Passengers have been urged to check their journeys, as the speed restrictions could mean delays and even cancellations due to timetable changes. Here's some information about the changes and why they are necessary. Which train operators are affected? C2C is the latest operator which has had to amend its timetable from Monday in response to the track conditions, which it said have been affected by the driest spring in more than 50 years. From Monday, customers have been urged to check their journeys in advance. Simon Milburn, infrastructure director for Network Rail Anglia, said: 'We are really sorry for the disruption to passengers from the timetable alterations, but we need to keep everyone moving safely. 'Our teams are working together to keep running the best possible service for passengers, even with the significant challenges we face with clay soil following prolonged dry spells.' South Western Railway has also been affected, explaining it had seen some of the driest conditions for around 200 years. The clay soil embankments which support its tracks have dried out across long stretches of the route between Gillingham and Axminster. Why does this happen? Train operators have said the exceptionally dry spring and summer have sparked the issues across the network. The UK had its fifth-hottest July on record, according to provisional Met Office figures. This followed the UK's driest spring since records began in 1836. C2C, which operates between London and south Essex, said the clay soil underneath its lines had shrunk, causing the track to drop in places and become uneven. South Western Railway said because track levels have been disturbed, their trains cannot travel safely at their normal speeds. Last year Network Rail dropped 12,600 tonnes of ballast across the route to try to minimise the effects of clay shrinkage, but an exceptionally dry spring this year has meant that it hasn't been possible to eliminate track issues. It said it would need to rain for a solid three months for a soil moisture deficit not to impact services this summer. Network Rail said although this can happen across Britain, there are different soil types across the country, meaning soil moisture is a particular problem in southern England where there is a lot of clay in the ground. How will journeys be affected? C2C advised customers to check journey planners before they travel, as trains operate at slower speeds with journeys taking longer than usual. It said this may mean trains run at slightly different times, with a small number of services each day to be altered to start or terminate early. The alterations are expected to be in place for between two and three months. South Western Railway said due to the speed restrictions between Gillingham and Axminster, an amended timetable is in place for services between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids. This means only one train is running every two hours rather than the usual one per hour. It said train services between London Waterloo and Yeovil Junction are also taking approximately 25 minutes longer than usual between Tisbury and Yeovil Junction. It said the timetable changes will be in place until further notice.
