Latest news with #FireWatch
Global News
13 hours ago
- Climate
- Global News
Wildfire near Miramichi, N.B. contained, other blazes continue to grow
The wildfire near Miramichi, N.B., is now said to be contained but there are still 37 active woodland blazes across the province, seven of which are considered to be out of control. The Oldfield Road Fire near Miramichi, which was first detected on Aug. 6, had grown to around 1,402 hectares, according to Fire Watch, the province's monitoring website. However, in a Facebook post, the province says the Old Field Road fire is now considered to be contained. This means it has been surrounded by barriers such as bulldozer breaks or hose lines, which are designed to prevent further spread. 'However, fire is still actively burning on some or all edges, and it could potentially jump or spread,' the post warns. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Fires still considered out of control by the province include Beaver Lake Stream, Chief's, 9 Mile, Lovalls Lake, Jacquet River PNA, Hells Gate and Jacquet River. Story continues below advertisement The two largest fires are in Beaver Lake Stream near Red Bank, which was discovered last Thursday, and the Chief's fire near Northesk, which was discovered a day earlier. Over the weekend, the Beaver Lake Stream fire ballooned in size to 650 hectares, while the Chief's fire is now listed as 250 hectares in size by the province's Fire Watch website. The remainder of the fires are listed as contained, under control, being monitored or being patrolled on Fire Watch. Rain fell on some areas of New Brunswick over the weekend but it was not enough to put an end to wildfire dangers, according to the Facebook post. 'Quick rain showers only dampen the surface, while the dry material underneath can still ignite easily,' it read. 'Sun and wind can dry out that moisture within hours, creating dangerous conditions again.' The wet weather is not expected to continue Monday, with the forecast calling for sunny conditions with highs up to 26 C for some areas of New Brunswick. In Miramichi, the high was expected to be 20 C, which will likely be welcomed conditions for the firefighters. On Friday, Minister of Natural Resources John Herron told reporters that at least seven firefighters had been treated for heat exhaustion as a heat wave continued across the East Coast.
Global News
3 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
New Brunswick wildfires: Miramichi blaze remains out of control as others appear
A massive wildfire near Miramichi, N.B., continues to be listed as out of control by provincial officials. The Oldfield Road Fire, which was first detected on Aug. 6, had grown to 1,358 hectares by Wednesday evening, a number which remained unchanged on Friday morning, according to Fire Watch, the province's monitoring website. The fire is one of 17 active fires throughout the province, including four that are said to be 'out of control.' In addition to the Oldfield Road Fire, the Pats Brook fire near Maple Glen, as well as the Green Brook and Smoker Brook fires near Newcastle Parish, were all deemed 'out of control.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The other three fires are relatively small, listed at .1 hectares in size, and all began on Wednesday, according to Fire Watch. There are six fires listed as 'being contained,' two of which are said to be 'under control,' while a further five are 'being patrolled.' Story continues below advertisement Officials said Thursday they were investigating whether 'multiple' fires had broken out overnight from lightning strikes. Brian Proctor, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said New Brunswick was hit with 10,477 lightning strikes overnight into Thursday. The majority struck in the northern half of the province, including in the Miramichi area, he said. 'We often do see lightning activity, but it was quite a severe day,' Proctor said. The largest out-of-control fire in the province was burning near Miramichi, and it has scorched nearly 14 square kilometres since Aug. 6. — With files from The Canadian Press
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Climate
- Los Angeles Times
O.C. Fire Watch volunteers are at the ready as the season for ‘devil winds' approaches
To spark more interest from the public as high fire season approaches, bringing with it the promise of Santa Ana or 'devil winds' — and in light of recent devastating California wildfires — officials and volunteers with the Orange County Fire Watch program conducted a mock deployment for the media Wednesday morning at Pacific Ridge Trailhead in Newport Beach. 'We want to get information out before the real windy season and raise awareness ahead of the wildfire season when conditions are really dry,' said Scott Graves, communications manager for the Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 'The demonstration of what a typical Orange County fire would look like is part of the reason for holding the event.' The Fire Watch program is administered by the conservancy along with its partners, OC Parks, the cities of of Irvine and Newport Beach, and the Orange County Fire Authority. The IRC and OCFA work together to facilitate the volunteer program, which currently boasts more than 300 trained volunteers in 36 locations. Their mission is to reduce catastrophic wildfires through education, early reporting and deterrence. The volunteers and staff are deployed to areas that are prone to wildfires and monitor for potential danger such as dense brush growth and trailheads. 'They are activated during red flag warnings and Santa Ana winds,' said Renalynn Funtanilla, Fire Watch program coordinator. 'The truth is, this is a community issue and requires a community response,' Graves said. He added that providing visual and early detection assistance such as reporting potential arson activity goes beyond the Fire Authority and the Fire Watch program. 'It's on all of us to try to prevent wildfire ignitions, especially during high wind events,' he said. Four of the program's volunteers participated Wednesday in the mock deployment question- and-answer event. Yang Fei, a seven-year volunteer, said he keeps his eyes out for fire ignition and reports it 'to protect the nature.' Retiree Phil Sallaway has been a volunteer for two and half years. He explained he mostly works at the operations center where he helps monitor the ham radios. 'I've also been stationed at Santiago Canyon Road, a Fire Watch location where we educate the public about red flag days,'said Sallaway. 'We also observe and report fires and trespassers.' Mary Handfield, a frequent park visitor, received information about the Fire Watch volunteer program as a result of subscribing to the O.C. Parks mailing list. 'I signed up for the four-hour training class and joined the volunteer program six months ago,' Handfield said. 'The only deployment I've been on was on the Fourth of July at Carbon Canyon in Brea.' Her assignment was to watch for fires and to log in what she witnessed, for example, someone going off a trail or suspicious activity. 'I'm looking forward to the first wind event with Santa Anas coming up,' said Handfield. 'I can use what I've learned and hopefully prevent or catch a fire early.'
Global News
6 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
New Brunswick wildfires: Miramichi blaze getting bigger, others popping up
The 'out of control' wildfire near Miramichi, N.B., has continued to grow in size although the pace has slowed, according to the province. On Wednesday morning, New Brunswick's Fire Watch website listed the Old Field Road wildfire as being 1.358 hectares in size up from the 1,120 hectares reported on Tuesday morning. While this is still a significant increase, it is far from the change of 670 hectares reported between Tuesday morning and Monday afternoon. The Old Field Road wildfire, which was first discovered on Aug. 6, is one of 15 active wildfires in the province, up from 13 on Tuesday. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Of the active fires, a good portion fall in the 'being patrolled category' while the 'Slash Fire' near the Maine border is said to be 'under control.' Story continues below advertisement The only other 'out of control' wildfire continues to be the 115 Pit wildfire which is burning near Irishtown. On Monday, provincial officials said they were moving resources from Miramichi the fire near Irishtown as it was burning in an area near 900 structures. There were also 1,500 residents in the area which have been told by New Brunswick officials to be ready to evacuate the area quickly. On Wednesday afternoon, provincial officials are expected to provide an update at 2:30 p.m. which Global News will stream live on this page.
Global News
7 days ago
- Climate
- Global News
New Brunswick wildfires: Blaze near Miramichi jumps to more than 1,100 hectares
An already-large wildfire near Miramichi, N.B., has nearly tripled in size since Monday, according to the province. The 'Old Field Road' wildfire was reported as being around 450 hectares on Monday afternoon is now said to be 1,120 hectares in size. It is one of 11 active wildfires, a number which is down from 14 on Monday, with only one other blaze deemed 'out of control', according to Fire Watch, the province's information portal. 1:39 Will weather help Canada's wildfire fight anytime soon? The other one is located near Irishtown, remains around 45 acres in size, which is the same as was reported on Monday. Story continues below advertisement Three of the other active wildfires are listed as contained on Firewatch while the other six are said to be on patrol. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Provincial officials said Monday that the fire near Oldtown was in closer range to the community so resources had been diverted there from Miramichi. 'Around Irishtown that the the area of concern that particular polygon has as many as 900 structures in that region,' Minister of Natural Resources John Herron said Monday. 'That potentially could an estimated 1,500 persons.' Sorry, this visualization could not be loaded… The province had also asked people in the Irishtown area to prepare for evacuation at short notice. Herron said that firefighters were having issues getting in front of the Miramichi fire. 'At the moment we are unable to get in front of that fire but we do have the capacity to help steer it, steer it away from people,' he explained. 'So that that's where our efforts are with respect to the old fuel fire itself.' Story continues below advertisement A restriction on public access to Crown Lands went into effect as of 12:01 a.m. on Sunday in N.B. Government officials said all industrial and recreational activities on Crown land are prohibited due to extremely dry and dangerous conditions. Officials are encouraging private landowners to do the same.
