Canada wildfire near Vancouver contained
Residents of British Columbia's Squamish district, which is just 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of the major city of Vancouver, had been on standby to evacuate as a blaze approached.
But British Columbia's wildfire service said over the weekend that the Squamish fire was "being held" and the community now faced a "decreased risk."
Residents of the coastal area told AFP last week that the size of the fire came as a shock.
Marc-Andre Parisien, a researcher at the Canadian Forest Service, has said that fires near the ocean like the one that had threatened Squamish were concerning as such areas have not previously seen major wildfires.
Two years after a historically devastating summer, Canada is once again facing a massive fire season, with burned areas already exceeding year-to-date averages from recent years.
More than 220 active fires were burning across the country on Monday, with 90 of them considered out of control.
Nearly four million hectares (15,400 square miles) have already been consumed by flames, an area slightly smaller than Switzerland.
East of Squamish, in Canada's Prairies region, some 10,000 people who had been ordered to evacuate were cleared to head home as of Friday, as fire threats eased due to favorable weather conditions.
But Canadian officials have warned the country faces an increased wildfire risk through the summer, with higher than normal temperatures expected in many regions.
In recent years, Canada has experienced warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the globe.
Linked to human-induced climate change, rising temperatures lead to reduced snow, shorter and milder winters, and earlier summer conditions that promote fires, experts say.
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France 24
a day ago
- France 24
Canada wildfire near Vancouver contained
Residents of British Columbia's Squamish district, which is just 64 kilometers (40 miles) north of the major city of Vancouver, had been on standby to evacuate as a blaze approached. But British Columbia's wildfire service said over the weekend that the Squamish fire was "being held" and the community now faced a "decreased risk." Residents of the coastal area told AFP last week that the size of the fire came as a shock. Marc-Andre Parisien, a researcher at the Canadian Forest Service, has said that fires near the ocean like the one that had threatened Squamish were concerning as such areas have not previously seen major wildfires. Two years after a historically devastating summer, Canada is once again facing a massive fire season, with burned areas already exceeding year-to-date averages from recent years. More than 220 active fires were burning across the country on Monday, with 90 of them considered out of control. Nearly four million hectares (15,400 square miles) have already been consumed by flames, an area slightly smaller than Switzerland. East of Squamish, in Canada's Prairies region, some 10,000 people who had been ordered to evacuate were cleared to head home as of Friday, as fire threats eased due to favorable weather conditions. But Canadian officials have warned the country faces an increased wildfire risk through the summer, with higher than normal temperatures expected in many regions. In recent years, Canada has experienced warming at least twice as fast as the rest of the globe. Linked to human-induced climate change, rising temperatures lead to reduced snow, shorter and milder winters, and earlier summer conditions that promote fires, experts say.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
US Open resumes with Burns leading at rain-soaked Oakmont
Burns, seeking his first major title, was on two-under par and Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, was on one-under par for the tournament through seven holes when play was halted for dangerous weather. Play was stopped at 4:01 p.m. (2001 GMT) and resumed at 5:37 p.m. after a delay of 96 minutes. Course workers used squeegees to brush standing water off greens and fairways in a bid to keep the course playable as well as stop water from trickling into bunkers. Burns and Scott were each two-over on their round at the eighth tee when play was stopped. England's Tyrrell Hatton and Norway's Viktor Hovland shared third on one-over with Mexico's Carlos Ortiz and American J.J. Spaun sharing fifth on two-over. With 11 holes remaining for the leaders in the final pairing, they were racing sunset to try and decide a winner without going to a Monday finish. In US Open history, there have been two Monday finishes caused by storms and not a playoff -- 2009 at Bethpage Black when Lucas Glover won and 1983 when Larry Nelson won at Oakmont. © 2025 AFP
France 24
5 days ago
- France 24
Death toll in S.Africa floods rises to 78
The bitterly cold winter storm struck the largely rural and underdeveloped province on Monday, causing a river to burst its banks and submerge homes, with several make-shift dwellings toppled. The worst-hit area was around the city of Mthatha, about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, where residents picked through the mud three days later to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes. AFP journalists saw a rescue team pull four bodies, some of them children, from a one-roomed house in the late afternoon as locals watched. Houses, trees and cars were covered in mud and fields were strewn with debris. "As the water subsides, more bodies are being discovered," said Caroline Gallant, Eastern Cape manager at the South African Red Cross Society, which has sent assistance to the disaster zone. More than 3,000 houses have been affected, she told AFP, adding it was "the worst ever disaster" recorded in the area. "The figure has gone to 78," Velenkosini Hlabisa, minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, told public broadcaster SABC News. These include six school students who were among 10 in a school van that was swept away in the flooding, he said. Four of the children are still missing, officials said. "We learnt of an additional two learners today... who have been confirmed as having died on the walk to school," Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said. "We are reeling," she told the SABC. Ali Sablay, a spokesperson for disaster response charity the Gift of the Givers Foundation, said Thursday evening their teams had recovered eight new bodies, including three children. President Cyril Ramaphosa called the floods "unprecedented" and said he would visit the disaster-hit region Friday. Door to door One rescuer, who spoke to AFP on Thursday on the condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to speak to the media, said his team was expecting to find more bodies and possibly survivors. "We are going door to door to see, because yesterday we did find people locked inside houses who couldn't get out and were deceased," he said. The storm damaged power and water supplies and at least 600 people have been displaced, the provincial government said, with many sheltering in community halls. Infrastructure has also been damaged and at least 20 health facilities affected, the local authority said. "The numbers will increase dramatically," Sablay said. "In the last 24 hours the number of people requiring assistance has jumped from 5,000 to 10,000," he told AFP. "The homes are fragile, they can collapse any time; food is contaminated so people need to be evacuated," he added. The government urged South Africans to be vigilant over the next few days as more "extreme weather" was expected across the country. The province -- where Nelson Mandela was born -- is among the poorest in the country, with 72 percent of people living below the poverty line, according to the Southern African Regional Poverty Network. Snow and heavy rainfall are common during winter in South Africa but the country is also highly vulnerable to the impact of climate variability and change, which increases the frequency and severity of droughts, floods and wildfires, according to the Green Climate Fund. "We must take a tough stance that everyone who is living on a flood plain must be removed," minister Hlabisa said. "Climate change is a reality now."
