Wildfires

Wildfires Nevada USA

The lightning-sparked Carpenter 1 blaze has raged through a national forest recreation area in the mountains northwest of Las Vegas as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to regain lost ground yesterday evening.

The landscape burned by the fire has grown by 5,000 acres since Wednesday alone, while the containment around the fire zone slipped from 15 percent to 10 percent.

The blaze has pumped smoke into the air over the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area, and charred more than 25,000 acres of pinyon-juniper woodlands since it was sparked by lightning on July 1, officials said.

Six buildings, including at least one commercial structure, were destroyed on Tuesday, officials said. It was not immediately known whether the others were residences or businesses.

No further structures were known to be in immediate danger on Thursday.

The blaze was ranked as the top U.S. firefighting priority by federal authorities.

Bushfires Australia

Tasmanian bushfire crews are bracing for worsening conditions as they battle a large wildfire in the south of the state.

Cooler weather has brought relief to Australian fire fighters battling bushfires across the south east of the country. More than a hundred and twenty fires are still burning, with more than two dozen still out of control.