Roads closed as fire crews spend second night at Highland wildfires
On Sunday police urged the public to avoid the area and advised those living nearby to keep their windows and doors shut.One witness, who tried to put the initial fire out, told BBC Scotland News it started south-east of Loch Allan.They said the seat of the wildfire was a ring of stones where a camp fire had been lit and camping chairs had been abandoned.
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Race to save one of the world's tallest trees following fire
Authorities in Oregon are grappling with a persistent fire burning within one of the world's tallest and oldest trees, posing a unique challenge for firefighters near the state's southern coast. The Doerner Fir, a coastal Douglas Fir estimated to be over 450 years old and towering over 99 metres (325 feet), has been alight since Saturday in Coos County, located within Oregon's Coast Range. Megan Harper, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Land Management, stated that an infrared drone flight on Tuesday revealed no active flames or smoke at the tree's summit, but detected heat within a cavity some 280 feet high. The difficulty lies in accessing this high-altitude cavity to douse it with water, Harper explained. Discussions have included unconventional methods such as constructing scaffolding or ascending neighbouring trees for better access, or even allowing the fire to smoulder under close observation. Crews remained onsite on Tuesday, with a helicopter on standby for potential water drops. This follows successful helicopter bucket drops on Monday by the Coos Forest Protective Association, which had already reduced fire activity near the tree's crown. It added that sprinklers were placed at the base of the tree, where containment lines were also constructed to prevent further fire spread. The fire may impact the tree's standing in global height rankings, Harper said. 'We've lost about 50 feet of it, just from fire and pieces falling out," she said, noting that the 50 feet (15 meters) were lost through the top burning. 'So I don't know where it'll stand after this, but it's still a magnificent tree.' The cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation. It is the only tree on fire in the immediate vicinity, and investigators are looking at lightning data to see if there were any recent strikes in the area, Harper said. For now, the tree is not at risk of fully burning down, according to Harper. 'Right now, that is not a danger,' she said. 'The tree is so big, it's got so much mass that it would take a while for it to burn all the way through the tree." Meanwhile, those involved in the firefighting efforts want to do everything possible to save the historic tree, Harper said. 'I think people really love it,' she said of the tree. 'There's a lot of history there, and so we don't want to lose it."
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- The Guardian
Deadly wildfires show Spain must better prepare for climate crises, says Sánchez
The wildfires that have devoured 382,000 hectares of land in Spain and killed four people underscore the need to 'readjust and recalibrate' the country's preparation and response capacities as part of a non-partisan effort to tackle the impacts of the climate emergency, the prime minister has warned. Speaking during a visit to the south-western region of Extremadura on Tuesday, Pedro Sánchez said that while the record-breaking 16-day heatwave that had fanned the flames was over, 'difficult hours' lay ahead as firefighters continued to battle huge blazes across parts of the country. The prime minister said the wildfires – and last year's disastrous floods in the eastern region of Valencia – were clear proof that the climate emergency was hitting Spain harder and harder each year. According to Spain's Carlos III public health institute, 1,149 excess deaths across the country between 3 August and 18 August are likely to have been linked to the heatwave. 'We need to prepare and be better equipped with mechanisms and tools so that we can mitigate the effects of these climate emergencies when they happen,' said Sánchez. 'The climate emergency is getting worse and more recurrent each year, and the effects of that emergency are accelerating each year.' He said that when he had spoken to people affected by the fires, they had told him that they expected a non-ideological approach to the climate emergency that went beyond four-year governmental terms. 'For all the scientific predictions about how the climate emergency would apparently evolve, we're seeing that it's getting worse and hitting much harder each year, particularly across the Iberian peninsula,' he said. 'We need to readjust and recalibrate both our response and prevention capacities.' The prime minister, who has already called for a 'state pact' to address the climate emergency, said he would outline his plan early next month. 'If the climate emergency is getting worse each year, we need to move beyond legislatures and turn climate emergency policies into state policies that bind all our institutions and all those that govern,' he added. The response to the wildfires across many of Spain's self-governing regions has been beset with familiar political arguments. The opposition conservative People's party (PP) has accused Sánchez of touting the pact as a means to deflect criticism of what it claims has been his poor handling of the crisis. 'State pacts don't put out the flames, nor do they restore what's been lost,' a PP spokesperson said on Monday. 'People were expecting a lot more than a smokescreen designed to save his reputation after he'd gone missing for a week.' Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The PP's leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said the prime minister had ignored repeated calls for more troops to be sent to the hardest-hit areas and had failed to invest sufficiently in prevention. 'Sánchez's duty is to send help, not to skimp and always improvise,' he said on Tuesday. Police in Spain have arrested 32 people for suspected arson since 1 June, while 93 others are under investigation, according to the interior ministry. Thousands of firefighters are still tackling blazes in neighbouring Portugal, where wildfires have claimed two lives and burned about 235,000 hectares of land. This article was amended on 19 August 2025. An earlier graphic said incorrectly that wildfires in Spain had burned more land this year than in any year on record. This has been replaced.
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Spain suffers its worst wildfires on record as deadly infernos ravage area twice the size of London after two-week heatwave 'that has left 1,100 dead'
Spain is enduring its most devastating wildfire season since records began, with more than 1,100 deaths linked to the recent heatwave that has fuelled the blaze across the country. Official figures from the Carlos III Health Institute show there were 1,149 excess deaths in Spain from August 3-18. Experts are now saying they could be linked to the heatwaves that saw temperatures soar above 45C in some areas. The fires have consumed more than 382,000 hectares of land, more than twice the size of London. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that 'difficult hours remain' as exhausted emergency crews continue battling infernos that have destroyed villages, severed rail links and forced mass evacuations across the country. Addressing the country during a visit to the hard-hit western region of Extremadura, Sánchez said: 'I ask the media, and also citizens, to exercise extreme caution, to not let our guard down. Critical moments remain, difficult hours remain. The crisis follows a searing 16-day heatwave that sent temperatures above 45C and left much of the country tinder-dry. Thanks to Tuesday's lower temperatures, fire crews had an advantage in battling the blazes that have ravaged many swathes of land. Firefighters have been deployed across hard-hit regions, including Zamora, León, Ourense and Cáceres, supported by soldiers and a fleet of aircraft brought in under the European Union 's civil protection mechanism. Four people have lost their lives, among them a firefighter killed in a road accident, while others remain in hospital with serious injuries. The king was forced to cut short his summer break to receive emergency briefings, and Sánchez has demanded a cross-party pact to confront what he called the worsening 'climate emergency.' This marks Spain's worst-ever fire season since records began in 2006. It has eclipsed 2022's case, when 306,000 hectares were burned. Authorities say arson is suspected in a number of incidents, with 27 people arrested and dozens more under investigation. Last week, the regional leader of Castile and León also said he suspects arson in the infernos that led to the evacuation of more than 1,400 residents. At the time, he said: 'We will be relentless with the perpetrators of these attacks against the lives and safety of people and our historical and natural heritage The prime minister's trip to Extremadura was the second time he had gone to inspect affected areas. In both visits, he said that Spain needed a 'state pact to confront the climate emergency' and also warned about how severe the wildfires have become. He added: 'Every year the climate emergency worsens, every year it becomes more recurrent, and every year its effects accelerate.' Thousands of residents have had to flee their homes, and several roads have been sealed off completely. Spain is not alone in facing catastrophe - Portugal has seen more than 235,000 hectares scorched this summer, five times the seasonal average. Two firefighters were killed on Sunday when their truck plunged into a ravine while they were rushing to tackle a blaze, while in the north of the country, a deadly fire tornado claimed the life of a former mayor. Last week, the mayor of Vila Real said: 'We are under enormous attack, with absolutely incalculable losses, the resources are clearly insufficient given the scale of what we are experiencing.' To the east, Turkey has declared multiple disaster zones as wildfires swept through its Mediterranean coast, killing at least 13 people, including emergency responders and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. In İzmir province, more than 50,000 people were displaced as the flames raged on under suffocating heat. In Cyprus last month, wildfires in the Limassol district destroyed several homes and infrastructure, killed two people attempting to escape in their car, and left scores injured. A British family emotionally told Daily Mail about how they scrambled to safety and lost their dream villa. In Greece, the island of Crete was placed under a state of emergency as firefronts advanced on resorts and residential areas. Wildfires have also been seen in Albania, Italy and France, making this one of the worst summers for wildfires across the continent.
