Wildfires - Nepal
Numerous small wildfires in Nepal have triggered dry landslides in many places on the Dipayal-Dadheldhura road section of KI Singh Highway, posing a threat to vehicles using the route.
Acting Forest Officer Laxmi Joshi deplored the local practice of setting fire to the forest and said, “While in many cases it’s the locals who do this to let new grass grow and the hunters, intent on poaching wildlife there, in other cases such wildfires are caused by the negligence of smokers.”
Wildfires - Indonesia - Cleansing Rains Clear Out Choking Indonesian Smoke
The choking pall of smoke from illegal fires in Indonesia was thinned in many areas by heavy rain and favourable winds.
Parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore experienced the best air quality in weeks.
Countries as far away as the Philippines and Thailand, also affected by the smoke, saw an end to the air pollution that forced schools to close and airlines to cancel flights.
Downpours on Sumatra and Borneo, where hundreds of forest and land-clearing fires for agriculture have burned for weeks, also helped thin the smoke.
Some who lived near the blazes grew tired of waiting for government action and used makeshift tools to extinguish a small number of the fires, which have caused a frightening surge in respiratory illnesses during recent weeks.
Wildfires - Indonesia
Indonesia on Thursday asked several countries including China, Singapore, Russia, and Japan for help to put out fires that have sent choking smoke drifting across the region for weeks.
Indonesia had repeatedly declined offers of outside help to tackle the smoke, which is mostly caused by companies using fire to clear land for palm oil and pulp wood plantations on Sumatra island and its part of Borneo island.
The smoke has pushed up pollution to dangerous levels across parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and southern Thailand, disrupted flights and closed schools on bad days.
Vessels line the anchorage area in the southern coast of Singapore October 5, 2015.
Wildfires - Oregon, USA
Evacuation orders are in place for parts of Prairie City, a town of approximately 900 people near John Day in Eastern Oregon. Fire officials said the strong winds Saturday morning pushed the Canyon Creek Complex both north and east, and they’re worried that windy conditions will test efforts throughout the day.
Wildfires - Idaho, USA
The Tepee Springs Fire is burning about 48,000 acres as of Saturday, with some flames jumping north across the Salmon River, according to fire officials. Residents near Riggins have been told to evacuate amid two days of aggressive growth, and the fire also prompted the emergency closure Thursday of nearly 18 miles of the Lower Salmon River to all recreational use.
In North Idaho, a group of blazes, now dubbed the Clearwater -Municipal-Motorway North Complex that earlier destroyed 42 homes near Kamiah is now 75 percent contained and at about 130 square miles.
The Rapid Fire has burned 6,422 acres in subalpine and mixed conifer forest about 12 miles southeast of McCall as of Saturday. It is 40 percent contained. The fire grew about 1,000 acres due to winds and heavy fuel Thursday. With air support crews worked to strengthen containment lines around the southern part of the fire Friday and Saturday.
The 1,237-acre Cougar Fire, about 20 miles northeast of Cascade in Valley County,was about 90 percent contained as of Saturday. Fire crews continue to be released over time, though fire managers remain watchful for strong winds, reaching gusts of 30 mph Saturday that could scatter embers outside the containment lines.
The Campbells Fire was reported at 6,720 acres Friday in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness southeast of Dixie. It is burning through timber in Fall, Ruf, Moore and Trout creeks, and now includes Burnt Knob. Crews are doing structure protection at Campbells Ferry.
Wildfires - Montana, USA
About 20 residences in rural areas south of Libby were told to evacuate Saturday morning because of one of several fires burning in the Kootenai National Forest, fire spokeswoman Jennifer McCully said.
Elsewhere, the towns of Essex in Flathead County and Heart Butte on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation remain under evacuation orders.
Wildfires - USA
Hundreds of lightning strikes overnight have sparked three dozen new wildfires in Northern California, authorities said Sunday.
The 36 blazes triggered by 800 lightning strikes were small and quickly put out, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Meanwhile, about 3,000 firefighters continued to make progress on five large wildfires around the state.
