Grass fire spreads rapidly north of Melbourne

by Breaking News

A grassfire north of Melbourne, Australia, has been rapidly spreading as emergency services race to get it under control. 

According to Sky News, the fire was first reported on Tuesday afternoon and had since grown to more than 717ha in size as of 7:30am on Wednesday. Country Fire Authority (CFA) said fire was fast-moving after breaking out on Spring Vale Road in Flowerdale and is not yet under control.

Firefighters are now taking advantage of the weather conditions to undertake back burning activities on the southeast side of the fire. As a result, there will be increased smoke. Smoke may be visible in your community for the next few days.

Anyone in those areas are urged to remain near shelter, monitor the situation and be ready to act. CFA said that residents in the area should monitor changes, including increased wind speed, change in wind direction, smoke or poor visibility that indicates the situation is changing. 

It also advised anyone with pre-existing lung or heart conditions to rest as much as possible and keep away from the smoke. minimise smoke exposure by reducing your level of exercise during smoky conditions.

If practical, it added that people should stay indoors and keep windows closed until the smoke passes.

If the situation changes CFA said residents will need to leave quickly. The Authority said people should plan to: take pets, medications, mobile phone and charger, travel to the home of family or friends that are away from the warning area. It added that emergency services may not be able to help you if they decide to stay.

The fire is travelling in a northerly direction from Spring Valley Road, Flowerdale, and has now crossed Carver Creek, moving towards Yea Spur Road.

More than 50 CFA units have responded to the incident since it was first reported on Tuesday, with Forest Fire Management crew also on the job. There are no confirmed loss of homes at this stage however the extent of the damage is not yet known.

Welsh campaign aims to minimise impact of grass fires

by Featured News

Operation Dawns Glaw, a multi-agency task force of specialists from key agencies across Wales has reformed to reduce, and where possible eliminate the impact of grass fires across Wales.

The task force, initially established in 2016 by the all Wales Strategic Arson Reduction Board to tackle incidents of deliberately set grass fires across Wales, will also be turning its attention to the increase in accidental fires, often caused by our own careless behaviour when out enjoying the countryside.

In 2022 the fire services across Wales attended 3,269 grass fire incidents – an increase of 62% on the previous year with deliberate grass fires increasing by 1,542 (47%) to 2,263.

The increase was mainly due to hot dry weather in July and August which resulted in a second spike of incidents in addition to the March/April activity.

Peter Greenslade, Corporate Head of Prevention and Protection for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, and Chair of Operation Dawns Glaw, said: “As with previous years, we launch our Operation Dawns Glaw campaign as the weather starts to improve, the nights become lighter and our use of the landscape, countryside and grassland of Wales begins to increase.

“It is vitally important that we all continue to work together to build a healthier, more resilient and increasingly biodiverse landscape here in Wales, doing what we can to protect this precious resource for the future.

“We want to work with our communities, farmers, and landowners to share our knowledge and understanding of the effect that both deliberate and accidental fires have on our communities.  We understand that controlled burns can have a positive effect on the environment, creating biodiversity and a sustainable ecosystem and we are available for free advice on how to do this safely.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to reinforce our messages that while accidents can happen, there are some within our communities who are deliberately setting fire to our countryside – not only is this a crime, for which they will be prosecuted, but it also places unnecessary pressure on front line services and puts our communities in harm’s way. I would encourage anyone with information relating to such crimes to call 101, or to report anonymously to CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111”.

The Operation is also continuing its work with farmers and landowners across Wales, reminding them that while they may burn heather, grass, bracken and gorse up until the 15 March (up to 31 March in Upland areas), they must have a Burn Plan in place to ensure they are burning safely. It is against the law to burn outside of the burning season and can result in penalties of up to £1,000.

Forest fire devastates Northern Algeria

by Breaking NewsIndustry SectorsWildland Fire

At least 26 people have been killed and dozens more injured on Wednesday in forest fires that decimated parts of northern Algeria, the country’s interior minister Kamel Beldjoud said.

In El Tarf, near the border with Tunisia, 24 people were killed as well as a mother and daughter in Setif. Firefighters, supported by helicopters, were still trying to contain several blazes on Wednesday evening and around 350 residents have been evacuated across various provinces.

Wednesday’s toll brings the total number of Algerians killed in wildfires this summer up to 30.

The civil protection agency said that El Tarf was the worst hit area with 16 fires in progress.

Northern Algeria sees forest fire activity every year with 90 people thought to have died as a result last year and more than 100,000 hectares of woodland burnt.

Last August, Beldjoud blamed a spate of fires in Algeria’s Kabyle region on arson. He claimed “only criminal hands” could explain “the simultaneous outbreak of about 50 fires across several localities”.

King’s College London designing better methods to mitigate wildfire

by Featured NewsIndustry SectorsWildland Fire

As parts of Europe face their worst ever wildfire season, experts at King’s College London are working with partners across the continent to design and implement better methods for mitigating this threat.

King’s experts from the Department of Geography and the Leverhulme Centre for Wildfires, Environment and Society are working on improved detection and monitoring of fires as well as helping estimate the effect of the smoke on air quality and people’s health.

The work falls under FirEUrisk, a European-funded project that fosters knowledge transfer between European countries, with the aim of preventing and managing the threat posed by major wildfires. The project is a multi-million Euro project made up of 39 expert partners which aims to develop guidelines, directives and recommendations that can be adopted by all European countries.

Professor Martin Wooster said: “This project aims to deliver a step-change in how wildfires are managed across Europe. Particularly bad fires are unfortunately quite frequent in parts of southern Europe such as Portugal and Spain, but hotter, drier conditions in the UK and Northern Europe may see more fires in those environments as well.

“With the wealth of expertise at King’s in this area, we’re able to contribute vital capabilities such as how to use satellites for the early detection and ongoing monitoring of wildfire events. Working with others, we can also better understand how the smoke from these fires affects the health of the location population, which can be quite significant even hundreds of kilometres downwind.”

Aided by European satellites, the King’s team use algorithms to translate the raw satellite data into digestible information and support the early detection and ongoing monitoring of fires across Europe.

They are also able to use the satellite data to estimate the amount of smoke released by the fires the impact this has on the quality of the air people breathe and how this air pollution affects people’s health.

UK wildfire numbers more than triple in 2022 so far

by ActiveFeatured News

The number of wildfires in the UK has more than tripled in the year to date compared to the the number that took place in 2021.

So far in 2022, there have been 745 wildfires in the UK – more than three times the total figure of 247 for all of 2021 – including 150 in the past week alone.

Wildfires are classified as being large enough to cover an area the size of at least two-and-a-half football pitches.

Mark Hardingham, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, told BBC Radio 4 on Sunday that hot and dry weather had combined to create the perfect conditions for wildfires and that hundreds of grass and woodland fires happen in the UK every day.

“They are physically exhausting and demanding incidents to deal with,” said Haddington.

“Not only are you turning up as a firefighter in extreme, high temperatures, [but you’re] wearing your firefighter clothing, you’re chasing these fires across fields, you’re dragging heavy equipment, you’re keeping an eye out all the time for your own welfare and safety and those of your colleagues.

“Once you’ve dealt with that fire, more often than not you’re picking up another call to go to the next fire.”

Surrey Fire and Rescue declares Farnham grassland fire ‘major incident’

by ActiveFeatured News

The police have closed roads and urged people to stay clear of the areas where a grassland fire took place around Hankley Common near Farnham, Surrey, which saw the fire brigade declare a major incident on Sunday.

At least eight hectares of land were affected by the blaze which was scaled down from being a major incident on Sunday evening. Three surrounding roads have been closed.

Crews are expected to remain on the scene today and people have been advised to avoid the area and to keep doors and windows closed amid large volumes of smoke.

The fire service later tweeted to ask those nearby to stop calling 999 to report smoke clouds, after receiving “an incredibly high” number of calls, adding some local roads had been closed as a result of the incident.

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service issued a plea to the public, asking people to: “Please help keep our outdoors safe: pack a picnic instead of a disposable barbecue and dispose of cigarettes correctly.”

People were also warned to stay “far away from the fire as it can travel quickly”.

The grassland area is known for its appearance in the James Bond film Skyfall.