Nearly 500 personnel battle Timber fire in Los Padres national forest as blaze grows to 3,000 acres

Evacuations have been ordered for areas along California’s famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains.

The Timber fire in Monterey county started on Sunday and grew to nearly 3,000 acres by Tuesday evening, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. Nearly 500 fire personnel had been assigned to the fire in the Los Padres national forest.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

A fire near Highway 1 has spread, prompting evacuation orders across Monterey County.

© Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu, via Getty Images

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.

Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images

Extreme conditions in Washington and Oregon have fueled fast-moving fires, leaving the region draped in toxic plumes – and the danger isn’t over

Piles of twisted metal and ashen debris line the cul-de-sacs where the tranquil suburbs of Spokane, Washington, once stood.

The scale of devastation from a historic wildfire season in the Pacific north-west has come into sharper focus as firefighters wrangle a trio of blazes that consumed at least 846 structures on the eastern side of the state.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

About 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate over the weekend from the Bald Range fire. Weather conditions were not expected to provide much relief on Monday.

© Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press, via Associated Press

Mutual aid groups that started giving out PPEs during Covid are now loaning air purifiers and distributing masks to fume-addled communities

Miquette Thompson’s home in rural Mendocino county has been covered in smoke all week. There are the nearby Feliz and Woodside fires in northern California, which have burned more than 1,000 acres, as well as the wildfires devastating Oregon and Washington that are sending smoke their way, too.

“It’s become not unusual,” she said of walking outside and seeing a hazy sky.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Abby Mahler

© Photograph: Abby Mahler

© Photograph: Abby Mahler

Officials did not identify the pilots but said they were employed by Helicopter Transport Services, which was contracted by US Forest Service

Two helicopter pilots who crashed while they were fighting a wildfire in Utah have died, officials confirmed Saturday. The pilots were killed when their Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter went down Friday morning, according to the Sevier County Sheriff.

The helicopter was among those fighting a fire in the Fishlake National Forest. The crash ignited a new fire that spread to connect with the existing blaze, which has now scorched nearly 174 square miles (nearly 451skm).

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News/AP

© Photograph: Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News/AP

© Photograph: Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News/AP

The aircraft was responding to the Widemouth 2 fire, which has burned more than 100,000 acres since starting last month.

© Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News, via Associated Press

The Bald Range fire has burned more than 25,000 acres in British Columbia. At one point, the fire spread more than 2,000 acres in about an hour, officials said.

© BC Wildfire Service, via Reuters

Fire activity has increased sharply in British Columbia, with thousands evacuated from their homes just weeks after smoke from blazes in Ontario choked the East Coast.

© BC Wildfire Service, via Reuters

A superfan of thrillers recommends some of her favorites.

Rescuers not yet able to reach scene of crash near Richfield in central Utah, prompting fears for two missing people

A firefighting Sikorsky S64 helicopter with two individuals onboard crashed on Friday morning in a remote area of central Utah, according to federal aviation authorities.

The US Forest Service initially declined to comment on the condition of the helicopter’s passengers, asking the public for “patience while we focus on response efforts” in a statement.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: U.S. Forest Service/Fishlake National Fores/AP

© Photograph: U.S. Forest Service/Fishlake National Fores/AP

© Photograph: U.S. Forest Service/Fishlake National Fores/AP

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has burned more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county

At least one person has died in a wildfire burning in the foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range that officials believed was sparked by a man using a chainsaw.

Police arrested Herbert Wayne Smith, 65, in connection with the Gann fire, which has destroyed seven buildings, scorched more than 15 sq miles in Calaveras county and killed a well-known dog breeder in the town of Angels Camp.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

The man charged with setting one of the three destructive blazes in eastern Washington this month also told detectives he had planned the arson two weeks in advance, an affidavit said.

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

The authorities said they found a body inside a burned home near Sacramento. A man was charged this week with causing the blaze by operating equipment that produced sparks.

© Fred Greaves/Reuters

Aircraft violating restrictions have disrupted firefighting efforts in Spokane County, Wash., this week, officials said.

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

Court documents allege Aaron Farinacci, who faces slew of arson charges, set 25 fires in Spokane area over past year

The 37-year-old man accused of sparking a devastating fire in Washington allegedly studied how to maximize the blaze’s destruction and was responsible for setting 25 other fires in the Spokane area over the past year, according to a court affidavit.

Aaron Farinacci, who faces a slew of arson charges, is accused of starting the Old Trails fire, which began on 1 August and is still burning – one of three “Spokane complex” fires that have scorched hundreds of homes and displaced thousands of residents.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Experts say growing trend on sites such as Polymarket and Kalshi could motivate people to start fires to win money

A group of US lawmakers is sounding the alarm over prediction market platforms that allow users to bet on wildfires, as experts warn the emerging trend could raise the risk of arson.

Democratic senators from six states sent a letter this week to the chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), an independent government agency regulating platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi, urging it to rein in the practice.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Agustin Paullier/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Agustin Paullier/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Agustin Paullier/AFP/Getty Images

While many leaders compare the wildfire crisis to the second world war, governments fail to adopt the real lessons of pre-emptive wartime action

As France and Spain battle historic wildfires, comparisons to the second world war abound. “One of the continent’s biggest evacuation efforts since World War II,” reports the Associated Press. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called the wildfires his country’s “most difficult situation since the second world war”.

The images crossing all our screens certainly feel war-like – emergency aircraft and black smoke fill the skies, frantic civilians seeking shelter, historic towns lying in ruins, charred forests and burned-out vehicles, exhausted and sweat-soaked emergency responders.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Alexandros Beltes/EPA

© Photograph: Alexandros Beltes/EPA

© Photograph: Alexandros Beltes/EPA

After fleeing France’s worst wildfire in decades, residents of Le Porge, a village west of Bordeaux, returned home 13 days later. They found a town in ruins.

A brutal summer has exposed how much pressure European countries are under from forces largely out of their grip: war in Iran and Ukraine, record heat and more.

© Pierre Crom/Getty Images

A resident of Spokane County, Wash., said he noticed a man acting suspiciously and called 911 after seeing smoke. The police later arrested a suspect tied to one of the wildfires in the area.

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

Investigators pin blame for Eaton fire, which killed 19 people and ruined thousands of homes, on ‘electrical arcing events’ at out-of-service tower

The deadly 2025 Eaton fire in the Los Angeles area was caused by equipment belonging to the utility company Southern California Edison, fire officials said in a report released on Tuesday.

Los Angeles county fire officials found that the cause of the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed or damaged more than 9,000 homes and businesses was a tower that was not in service, according to the report.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

© Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

Suspect had a prior conviction for shooting his father in Arizona, reportedly after he told his son to do the dishes

Authorities on Monday charged a man in Washington state with starting a wildfire that has consumed almost 4,000 acres and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson for setting the Old Trails fire, the largest of three devastating wildfires burning through the region.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

Aaron Farinacci, 37, was arrested after a witness reported seeing him kneeling near the ignition site, officials said. Winds were forecast to increase Friday and Saturday, bringing a return to extremely critical fire weather.

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

Despite the scale of the damage, there have been no reported fatalities in the fires that started over the weekend. Late on Monday, officials arrested a man suspected of setting one of the fires.

© Loren Elliott for The New York Times

More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures destroyed, authorities said. The Spokane Area fire, which contains three separate blazes, has not yet been contained

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Tyler Vanwert via Reuters

© Photograph: Tyler Vanwert via Reuters

© Photograph: Tyler Vanwert via Reuters

The aircraft crashed while battling a wildfire northwest of Athens, as Greece fought more than 200 fires in the past week.

© Hellenic Red Cross, via Reuters

Wildfires in and around Spokane have stretched ability of federal and local agencies to fight blazes

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said on Sunday.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 sq miles (about 21 sq km), but they were among dozens across the western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. A total of about 390 sq miles have burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

© Photograph: David Ryder/Reuters

Firefighters were hopeful that improving weather conditions in Washington state could help efforts to contain the blaze, which officials described as the largest natural disaster in the history of Spokane.

© John Stember for The New York Times

The Old Trails fire near Spokane had grown to about 3,500 acres by Sunday morning, propelled by strong wind gusts and high temperatures.

© John Stember for The New York Times

In Oregon and Washington, low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread

A heatwave scorching the western US region has elevated the risk of hazardous fire conditions particularly in parts of Oregon and Washington, where low humidity and powerful winds have put officials on alert for wildfire spread.

The National Weather Service has forecast blistering temperatures through early next week that could climb from 110F to 120F across the south-west. In the Pacific north-west, highs reaching into the 90s are expected in the days to come.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

© Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Wildfires in France have forced tens of thousands of people from their homes and left entire towns deserted along the southwest coast. We visited Claouey, an empty beach town, and found a handful of residents who chose to stay, including one man who’s made it his mission to care for all the village pets.

© Alex Pena/The New York Times

Under French rules, homeowners must clear vegetation within roughly 50 yards of their houses. In the forests affected by France’s worst fire in decades, that didn’t happen.

© Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Have you had to cancel, reschedule or replan a trip to France, Spain or elsewhere because of raging fires or stifling heat? If so, we want to hear from you.

© Costas Metaxakis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Residents in Bordeaux in southwestern France are doing everything in their power to stop a wildfire that’s been burning for more than a week. The flames are too spread out for professional firefighters to be everywhere, so for now, civilian volunteers are the only thing standing between the fire and a major French city.

© Alex Pena/The New York Times

A large fire engulfed almost 250 acres of land in Suffolk, a scenic area on the coast. It was a few miles from a nuclear power station.

© Toby Shepheard/Reuters

Greece also worked to contain blazes on Lesbos and in the Peloponnese, where another firefighter died, in the midst of a brutal wildfire season for Europe.

© Reuters

As Europe’s climate warms, even moorlands and forests in the Cairngorms, in the Scottish Highlands, have fallen victim to rapidly spreading flames.

© Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Record heat and wildfires are devastating the continent, and scientists warn the climate crisis is getting worse.

© Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Firefighters have contained vast wildfires in both countries, but winds are high and temperatures rising. Spain’s prime minister said the next 12 hours would be “decisive.”

© Emma Da Silva/Associated Press

Officials said they had contained the spread of vast fires in both countries, but warned that rising temperatures and high winds meant the situation was still fluid.

© Emma Da Silva/Associated Press

The continent is experiencing some of its biggest fires and highest temperatures ever. Residents are fleeing, leaders are struggling to respond and “it will get worse,” one climate expert said.

© Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

One of the largest fires in modern French history is raging near the vineyards of Bordeaux. That is just the latest problem for France’s embattled wine industry.

© Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

Faced with massive blazes, firefighters in both countries are using a brief window of opportunity to bring the flames under control before temperatures spike.

© Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

One of the largest fires in modern French history is raging near the vineyards of Bordeaux. That is just the latest problem for France’s embattled wine industry.

© Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times

Madrid is booming, culturally and economically, but the wildfires raging within a short drive of the capital have provided a reality check.

© Oscar Del Pozo/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Narendra Modi caved to the demands of India’s young people — a nod to their real power.

© Saumya Khandelwal for The New York Times

The record wildfires, which have destroyed more than 200 homes and prompted large evacuations, could intensify with the arrival of a new heat wave.

© Baz Ratner/Associated Press

Spain’s center-left accused conservatives of underfunding the disaster response, while critics of France’s government decried delays.

© Romain Perrocheau/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images