Medina County residents return home as evacuation orders and road closures lift
After the flames burned through 1,092 acres, officials said on Tuesday that the fire was 95 percent contained. County roads were opened back up, as was the High Mountain Ranch subdivision, where two out of three homes that burned up in the fire were located.
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Brush removal in Converse underway to help protect neighborhood
CONVERSE – In Converse, a team of fire experts put in hard work Saturday morning to tackle potentially dangerous brush behind the subdivision Parc at Escondido. Converse Local 4377 worked with the City of Converse Fire Department, community leaders, Tiger Sanitation, and the Texas A&M Forest Service to clear the area. Behind the subdivision trees, fallen branches, brush, trash and construction material all pose a risk if a fire were to start. Although major progress was made for the firebreak, Cano said more work and volunteers are needed to complete the task that runs behind a total of 20 homes. To sign up to volunteer, send the Converse Professional Firefighters Association Local 4377 a message on Facebook.
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29 moving images that paint the picture of an epic 2020
(2020 Getty Images.) (2020 Getty Images)A man holds up a sign near a burning building during protests sparked by the death of George Floyd while in police custody on May 29 in Minneapolis. (2020 Getty Images)A girl holds her fist in the air while visiting the memorial for George Floyd on June 9 in Minneapolis. (2020 Getty Images)An injured man rests in a chair after a large explosion on Aug. 4 in Beirut, Lebanon. (2020 Getty Images)
KSAT Explains: The role climate change has played in western wildfires, active hurricane season
Wildfires burning in the western part of the country and an extremely active hurricane season: these two weather phenomena have become politically charged. Conversations about both have naturally turned into conversations about climate change.
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Record-breaking California wildfires surpass 4 million acres
“And that number will grow.”So far, in this year’s historic fire season, more than 8,200 California wildfires have killed 31 people and scorched “well over 4 million acres in California” or 6,250 square miles, Cal Fire said Sunday in a statement. The astonishing figure is more than double the 2018 record of 1.67 million burned acres (2,609 square miles) in California. Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Virtually all the damage has occurred since mid-August, when five of the six largest fires in state history erupted. Flannigan, the fire scientist, estimates the area of land burned from wildfires in California has increased fivefold since the 1970s.
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This is the way: Baby Yoda is accompanying first responders on the frontlines of West Coast wildfires
Attached in the care package along with Baby Yoda was a note that read as follows:“Thank you, firefighters. Carver said he was setting up a donation booth for firemen when he spotted Baby Yoda — the last on the shelf — and knew he needed to come too. Carver said the support he and the page have received has been incredible, pointing both to the Star Wars fanbase and to the human spirit. Below are a few highlights from Baby Yoda’s journey thus far:You can keep up with Baby Yoda on his journey by keeping up with the Facebook page. RELATED: Celebrate ‘Star Wars’ Day with new ‘Mandalorian’ docuseries on Disney+
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‘We get to help people out:’ San Antonio area firefighters battling California wildfires
San Antonio – Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System firefighters have volunteered to help with the wildfires in California. He said 17 firefighters are from the Bexar County area. Logan Godfrey, William Bourland and Brandon Reck with Bexar County Fire District 7 just returned from their deployment. Now, the crews in California include members with the Schertz Fire Department, Canyon Lake Fire, Bexar County ESD 8,12,7,10, Bexar County Fire 7, and San Antonio Fire. Authorities in California said 26 firefighters have died so far fighting multiple fires that have overcome the state.
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Homes burned as winds push California fire into desert floor
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.
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Team of Texas firefighters, support personnel assisting in devastating California wildfires
A team of Texas firefighters and support personnel are working to help combat the devastating California wildfires under Governor Greg Abbott’s order. The governor issued the order Friday, deploying approximately 190 firefighters, 50 fire trucks, and 10 command vehicles from 56 Texas fire departments. The teams were deployed to California Friday. As of Friday, the Lightning Complex fire has burned 372,971 acres in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Joaquin County, Stanislaus County, Merced County, and San Benito County, ABC 7 reports. The deployment of the Texas response team was made possible through the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS).
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10 now dead in massive Northern California wildfire
The blaze, part of the lightning-sparked North Complex, expanded at a critical rate of spread as winds buffeted the region. Butte County sheriff’s deputies and detectives found seven bodies on Thursday, a day after three other victims were discovered. They kind of held the family together.”More bodies could be found as crews manage to make their way into devastated areas. A fire raging along the Oregon border destroyed 150 homes near the community of Happy Camp and one person was confirmed dead, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said. It was the second time in two days that firefighters in California had to take the rare last-ditch effort to save their lives.
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7 surreal photos: Wildfire smoke blankets San Francisco in a spooky orange glow
A number of Northern California wildfires sent a thick, orange-glowing haze over the San Francisco area Wednesday, leaving the Bay in an eerie darkness. A fire burning in Butte County, located northeast of San Francisco, has forced thousands to evacuate from their homes, according to The Associated Press. (2020 Getty Images)An orange glow fills the sky above the Embarcadero in San Francisco. (2020 Getty Images)Smoke from various wildfires blankets the San Francisco skyline in darkness and an orange glow, seen from Treasure Island in San Francisco. (2020 Getty Images)An exterior view of the ballpark in San Francisco, California.
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Firefighter killed in California wildfire was Texas mom, EMT
SAN FRANCISCO A firefighter from Texas killed battling a wildfire in the Northern California forest was working the fire lines when her truck rolled off a remote backcountry road as she tried to escape the flames, fire officials said. With her family's permission, yesterday we released the name of our firefighter lost to us in California. The two largest fires, east and north of San Francisco Bay, were each at least 70% surrounded, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday. The progress has allowed thousands of people to return home but nearly 40,000 remained under evacuation orders, Cal Fire said. The fires have destroyed more than 5,800 structures destroyed, many of them homes and killed eight people.
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These celebrities are donating money to the Australian bushfires
The bushfires in Australia are still ravaging parts of the country and are wreacking havoc on small communities and rural towns. The damage has been devastating and news of the bushfires has spread overseas with many activists and celebrities sharing photos of the devastation on social media. There are many different places where you can donate money to help with relief, and many celebrities have shared donation links and even donated themselves. I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires. Another Australian actor, Russell Crowe, who is in Australia right now, posted that he donated $105,000 to firefighters.