WILDFIRE

The Florida Highway Patrol is urging caution as it monitors a wildfire in the area of Interstate 95 and US Highway 1 in Flagler County.

A major wildfire that ravaged forests in southwestern France has stopped spreading, according to local authorities

MADRID — (AP) — A large wildfire in northeast Spain grew rapidly overnight and was burning out of control Sunday, forcing the evacuation of eight villages and 1,500 people in Zaragoza province, firefighters said. The wildfire, which was declared Saturday, developed a 50-kilometer (31-mile) perimeter in less than 24 hours, the local forest chief said. Firefighters said the outlook for taming the blaze depends on the weather, but gusty winds up to 60 kilometers (37 mph) were predicted. ___Follow all AP stories on climate change and the environment at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Florida Forest Service officials responded to a wildfire which closed State Road 46 near at Seminole Ranch Conservation Area for hours Monday afternoon.

It’s no secret it has been very wet lately, but it doesn’t take much to dry things out in the Sunshine State.

Hundreds of residents forced to evacuate as blazes in the Florida Panhandle threatened their homes have been allowed to return, even as three wildfires in the region have grown to more than 29,000 acres.

The governor issued Executive Order 22-54 to declare a state of emergency in Bay County after the wildfires engulfed eight homes and led to the evacuation of thousands more, with weather conditions expected to maintain a moderate drought in the area for at least the next three days, according to the order.

The Colorado Fire, which started in the Palo Colorado Canyon, has burned 1,500 acres and has shut down the iconic highway, assistant chief with Cal Fire in Monterey County, told The Washington Post.

The blaze has destroyed some 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of forest over the past three days.

The wind will continue to be gusty Saturday which will help fuel an elevated wildfire risk. Any fires that start will spread easily. The breeze off of the ocean will help to create a few stray showers, mainly along the coast, but most of Central Florida will be dry with a mix of clouds and sun.

Local firefighters said they have been swamped with brush and wildfires recently.

It will be a great pool day with sunshine increasing through the morning. By Saturday afternoon, sunshine will be out in full force. Highs top out around 90 degrees. Wind gusts at times will top 25 mph inland, closer to 30 mph along the coast.

A Red flag warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for interior Central Florida including Lake, Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and interior Volusia county through Saturday evening.

A series of storms will ride down the West Coast of the U.S. bringing lower elevation rain and heavy mountain snow to California. An atmospheric river (narrow green stripe) will set up on the West Coast of the U.S. by the middle of the week producing heavy rain and mountain snow for much of California. An atmospheric river is a narrow flowing column of moisture responsible for producing significant rain and/or snow. These are most common along the West Coast of the U.S. with developing Pacific storms. West Coast StormAn upper-level low sliding down the California coast will induce the atmospheric river allowing for continuous heavy rain and snow for days.

Researchers say smoke from wildfires accounted for up to half of all small particle air pollution in parts of the western U.S. in recent years (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)BILLINGS, Mont. – Wildfire smoke accounted for up to half of all health-damaging small particle air pollution in the western U.S. in recent years as warming temperatures fueled more destructive blazes, according to a study released Monday. Nationwide, wildfires were the source of up to 25% of small particle pollution in some years, the researchers said. But it’s difficult to separate how much of the increase in smoke pollution is driven by climate change versus the forest fuel buildup, she added. The new study matches up with previous research documenting the increasing proportion of pollution that comes from wildfire smoke, said Dan Jaffe, a wildfire pollution expert at the University of Washington.

By the end of September, the United States had been hit with a total of 16 natural disasters that have each caused over $1 billion worth of damage. 2020 top three costliest weather events:Hurricane Laura: $14 billion Midwest severe weather derecho: $7.5 billion Hurricane Isaias: $4.5 billionSo far, the United States has seen over $46 billion worth of damage from these natural disasters. There has been a mention that Delta could be added to the list of billion-dollar weather events in the upcoming weeks. Trend Showing the Billion-Dollar Disaster Events in the past 20 yearsIn the past 20 years, there has been a steady upward trend in these damaging weather events. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, 2020 is the sixth consecutive year in which 10 or more billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events have impacted the United States.

The fire grew by nearly 20,000 acres to 142 square miles (368 square kilometers). The name of the firefighter killed in the nearby El Dorado Fire was being withheld until family members are notified. More than 7,900 wildfires have burned more than 5,468 square miles (14,164 square kilometers) in California this year, including many since a mid-August barrage of dry lightning ignited parched vegetation. The El Dorado Fire has burned more than 34 square miles (89 square kilometers) and was 59% contained, with 10 buildings destroyed and six damaged. ___Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles and Daisy Nguyen in San Francisco contributed to this report.

An recently burned area at the Encontro das Aguas park at the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020. Wildfire has infiltrated the park as the number of fires at the world's biggest tropical wetlands has more than doubled in the first half of 2020, according to data released by a state institute. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)BRASILIA – A vast swath of a vital wetlands is burning in Brazil, sweeping across several national parks and obscuring the sun behind dense smoke. From January through August, the number of fires more than tripled, topping 10,000. On Friday, Brazil's navy used a helicopter to rescue a burned jaguar cub and take it to a veterinary hospital.

ORLANDO, Fla. A record-breaking heat wave and drought are fueling a historic wildfire season out west. A map of all of the large fires burning out west. August Complex: 421,899 acres burned (Current - 24% contained)*3. SCU Lightning Complex: 396,624 acres burned (Current - 96% contained)*4 LNU Lightning Complex: 363,220 acres burned (Current - 92% contained)5. The peak of the western wildfire season runs until October.

Chiu)SHAVER LAKE, Calif. Three fast-spreading California wildfires sent people fleeing Saturday, with one trapping campers at a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest, as a brutal heat wave pushed temperatures into triple digits in many parts of state. The wildfire burning near Shaver Lake exploded to 56 square miles (145 square kilometers), jumped a river and compromised the only road into the Mammoth Pool Campground, national forest spokesman Dan Tune said. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) said the fire scorched at least 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers) and was burning at a moderate to dangerous rate of spread. A small community south of Alpine in the Cleveland National Forest was ordered to evacuate. The blazes have burned more than 1.5 million acres (2,343 square miles).

MARION COUNTY, Fla. Crews worked to contain a wildfire apparently caused by lightning, according to the Florida Forest Service. Officials said crews from the Florida Forest Service and Marion County Fire Rescue responded to the wildfire near the intersection of State Road 41 and County Road 328. Smoky conditions may occur in the area, especially during the overnight and early-morning hours, according to the Florida Forest Service. The five-acre wildfire was 100% contained as of Saturday afternoon, officials said.

The 2,000-acre (809-hectare) fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes Wednesday. Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the wildfires. Rich Aloy, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, was patrolling Wednesday when he and other deputies rescued an older couple trapped by a burning power line. The Santa Rosa County fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control, Fried said. In neighboring Walton County, a 575-acre (233-hectare) fire in Walton County prompted about 500 people to evacuate.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A wildfire in Volusia County caused officials to shut down all lanes of I-4 near mile marker 123 on Saturday. WILDFIRE ALERT: @FLForestService is responding to a 180-acre wildfire in Volusia County. The Florida Forest Service deployed five dozer plow units, three overhead units, and a helicopter to battle the blaze, officials said. Personnel with Volusia County Fire Rescue and the Seminole County Fire Department also responded to the fire. We thank our brave Forest Service firefighters for working swiftly to control this wildfire.”

ORLANDO, Fla- – Smoke from a now-contained wildfire at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge could be seen through Orange and Brevard counties and from space. According to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, the fire began Wednesday afternoon. As of noon Thursday morning, the Brevard Emergency Management reported that the fire had been contained. 11/21/19|11:30AM: The smoke in N Brevard is from a 4000-acre wildfire (now contained) at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge #KSC — Brevard EOC (@BrevardEOC) November 21, 2019The fire was so large the smoke plume is being picked up on Doppler radar. With a wind blowing in from the east, smoke will continue to move inland.

At least 4,000 acres have already gone up in flames due to the so-called "sherpa fire." California's Santa Barbara County is in a state of emergency due to the blaze. Teri Okita has more.

At least 4,000 acres have already gone up in flames due to the so-called "sherpa fire"; it seems like after every mass shooting, Americans mourn, but then go back to business as usual

It's already burned 400,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,600 homes and businesses. Smoke from the fires is raising serious environmental concerns, and not just locally. Ben Tracy has more.

A surging wildfire in northern California figures to become one of the five most destructive the state has ever seen. Danielle Nottingham has the latest.

A wildfire in Alaska has spread overnight to cover 6,000 acres, leading to evacuation advisories for more than 2,000 residents. CBSN's Vladimir Duthiers and Kristine Johnson have more.

Wildfire forces widespread evacuations in Southern California Southern California is dealing with a record setting heat wave. Temperatures in the triple digits have prompted health warnings and mandatory evacuations as firefighters battle a 1,500-acre wildfire in Silverado Canyon. Teri Okita reports.

Yosemite wildfire slows spread due to cooler weather Cooler temperatures and light rain helped firefighters gain control of the blaze in Yosemite National Park. Firefighters are still working to completely douse the wildfire. Gayle King reports.

Arizona wildfire continues to blaze, dozens of families evacuated A wildfire is still burning across 9 square miles of land in eastern Arizona's White Mountains, forcing dozens of homes to be evacuated. Charlie Rose reports.