The Airport Fire, which was reported in Trabuco Canyon Monday afternoon, expanded to burn more than 22,000 acres in Orange and Riverside Counties, but dropping temperatures may slow down the blaze, officials said Wednesday.
The Airport Fire, who was 0% contained as of Wednesday afternoon, threatened more than 10,000 structures in both counties, injuring seven people including five firefighters.
“The fire did make a run across Ortega Highway last night. It did damage and destroy some structures off the Ortega Highway. We’ve got damage assessment teams going in today to get a look at what that damage is exactly,” Capt. Paul Holaday with the Orange County Fire Authorities said.
As firefighters attacked the blaze from air and ground, they may get some relief on Wednesday with a chance in the weather.
“The fire has slowed down for us, so we’re able to make more progress on the flanks of the fire,” Holaday said, adding temperatures were down about 15 degrees on Wednesday with higher humidity levels.
But as the wind phenomenon called the Elsinore effect could erratically force wind shifts, authorities continued to urge neighbors to follow the evacuation orders and warnings.
The fire crews and responding agencies were granted more access to fire-suppressing resources as Gov. Gavin Newsom secured a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cal Fire officials said.
North of San Diego/Riverside County Line, South of Orange County Line, East of Orange County Line, West of S Main Divide/Grand Ave.
Road closures
Plano Trabuco / Joshua Drive
Santa Margarita Parkway / Antonio Parkway
Plano Trabuco / Robinson Ranch
Avenida Empressa / Santa Margarita Parkway
Antonio Parkway / Alas de Paz
Trabuco Canyon / Trabuco Creek
Santiago Canyon Road
Live Oak Canyon Road
Ortega Highway (east of Quarry to Grand Avenue in Lake Elsinore)
Evacuation sites
Orange County
RSM Bell Tower Community Center: 22232 El Paseo; Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (Open 24 Hours)
Riverside County
Temescal Canyon High School: 28755 El Toro Road, Lake Elsinore, CA
Santiago High School: 1395 E Foothill Pkwy, Corona, CA
An additional Evacuation Shelter is open at Temescal Canyon High School in the big gym located at 28755 El Toro Rd, Lake Elsinore, CA. The site is equipped with cots, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, water, snacks, and welcoming staff.
Animal shelters
Orange County
Large animal shelters
Orange County Fairgrounds: 88 Fair Drive; Costa Mesa, CA
Los Alamitos Race Course: 4961 Katella Avenue, Cypress, CA
Nohl Ranch Saddle Club: 6352 E. Nohl Ranch Rd. Anaheim, CA
Animal services
Ralph’s Supermarket Parking Lot: 31841 Santa Margarita Parkway; RSM, CA
OC Animal Care: 1630 Victory Road; Tustin, CA
Riverside County
Jurupa Valley Animal Shelter: 6851 Van Buren Blvd, Jurupa Valley, CA
An additional Large Animal Shelter is available at the Murrieta Equestrian Center located at 42670 Juniper St, Murrieta, CA. Basic food and water are available at animal shelters. If your pets/animals have special diets or special needs, please bring special food or medications with your animals.
Riverside County residents needing assistance with large animal evacuations can call (951) 358-7387.
As wildfires sweep across California at greater frequency every year, a new study has uncovered another devastating effect of the annual disasters. Erosion in the state after a wildfire has increased dramatically in the past 37 years, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey research.The groundbreaking study analyzed soil and sediment erosion in the year following a big wildfire, for the years between 1984 and 2021. The concerning acceleration continues unabated as climate change leads to a growth in both yearly wildfires and record wet years. “We anticipated that we would also see some increase , but we were surprised at the degree to which that increase has occurred,” said Helen Dow, a research geologist with the USGS. The surge was most notable in Northern California, though it occurred all across the state.This could be particularly alarming for the state’s water system, with 57% of post-fire erosion occurring upstream of California’s reservoirs, where it could harm water quality and even damage vital infrastructure. Hopefully, water managers across the state can look at how they might manage their facilities in the future based on the new research, taking potential wildfires into account, Dow said.Ideally, the research also brings to light the issue of post-fire erosion across the state and can inform local research in different parts of California. Because the scale of the research was extensive, scientists now know erosion continues more than just a year after wildfires.“Everyone living in the state knows that wildfire is becoming a bigger problem. We’ve all lived through it,” Dow said. “What people might not know is that fire damages landscapes in a way that creates a threat for communities and water systems downstream — and that this threat can then last for years, long after the hazard of the fire itself is gone.”
As wildfires sweep across California at greater frequency every year, a new study has uncovered another devastating effect of the annual disasters. Erosion in the state after a wildfire has increased dramatically in the past 37 years, according to recent U.S. Geological Survey research.
The groundbreaking study analyzed soil and sediment erosion in the year following a big wildfire, for the years between 1984 and 2021. The concerning acceleration continues unabated as climate change leads to a growth in both yearly wildfires and record wet years.
“We anticipated that we would also see some increase [in erosion], but we were surprised at the degree to which that increase has occurred,” said Helen Dow, a research geologist with the USGS.
The surge was most notable in Northern California, though it occurred all across the state.
This could be particularly alarming for the state’s water system, with 57% of post-fire erosion occurring upstream of California’s reservoirs, where it could harm water quality and even damage vital infrastructure. Hopefully, water managers across the state can look at how they might manage their facilities in the future based on the new research, taking potential wildfires into account, Dow said.
Ideally, the research also brings to light the issue of post-fire erosion across the state and can inform local research in different parts of California. Because the scale of the research was extensive, scientists now know erosion continues more than just a year after wildfires.
“Everyone living in the state knows that wildfire is becoming a bigger problem. We’ve all lived through it,” Dow said. “What people might not know is that fire damages landscapes in a way that creates a threat for communities and water systems downstream — and that this threat can then last for years, long after the hazard of the fire itself is gone.”
MARATHON, Greece (AP) — In the blackened remains of his workshop, sculptor Vangelis Ilias stacks what little is left of years of his efforts.
In August, a ferocious wildfire swept through the mountains north of Athens, Greece’s capital, pushing into the city and coming within feet of where Ilias created made-to-order tombstones, statues and other items out of white marble.
The flames ignited a gasoline-filled generator at his workshop, which burned for two days before he could get near the property. A bust of a Greek Orthodox saint was spared and now rests in front of the gutted and soot-covered site in the suburb of Halandri.
“It’s not the financial cost. I’ve lost my work — something spiritual,” Ilias said. “I’ve been doing this for 35 years, since I was a kid, aged 14.”
The Aug. 11-13 wildfire tore through more than 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and scrubland and scorched the shores of the city’s main water reservoir at Marathon, where an ancient battle inspired the modern distance race.
After reaching the urban fringes of Athens, the blaze forced thousands to flee. It destroyed homes, businesses, green spaces and a sports arena in the northern suburbs — and left deep scars on the landscape around Greece’s capital, home to more than a quarter of the country’s population of 10.4 million.
The National Observatory of Athens said the fire brought the area of the land burned in the Attica region since 2017 to more than 700 square kilometers (270 square miles). That represents 26% of the region’s total area and 37% of its forests — underscoring the increasing frequency and severity of the wildfires in recent years.
“We knew that this year would be the most difficult firefighting period in living memory,” Vassilis Kikilias, a minister for the climate crisis and civil protection, told private Skai television. “Since the beginning of the fire season on May 1, some 4,000 fires have started, a rate 50% higher than last year.”
Blackened hills, torched cars and the aerial views of the devastation serve as stark reminders of the blaze’s intensity — it defied a massive deployment of firefighters, as well as water-dropping planes and helicopters. Several other countries also scrambled planes and fire crews to help Athens.
The government ordered speedy evacuations along the southward path, but also imposed fines on homeowners who disregarded fire safety regulations.
“The fire started, and then strong winds carried it — that part was a natural phenomenon,” Ilias said. “But many residents ignored orders to clear the grounds of their homes, so we can’t just blame politicians for the response. It’s also up to us.”
One Wisconsin lawmaker is urging the Green Bay Packers not to go to Brazil for their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles Friday night in São Paulo at Corinthians Arena. Republican state Rep. John Macco, who represents the 88th Assembly District in Brown County, Wisconsin, is concerned about safety in the city.”Their national holiday, their equivalent to Fourth of July, is this Saturday, the 7th, the day after our football game. They are predicting major upheaval. And when you look at some of the riots and some of the other issues that have gone on there, that is not a place that we should be in right now,” Macco said. Macco said it would be in the NFL’s best interest to move the game back to the United States. There is also concern about smoke in the city coming from Amazon wildfires. Brazil has one of the largest NFL fan bases in the world.The Packers boarded a flight to Brazil on Wednesday.
One Wisconsin lawmaker is urging the Green Bay Packers not to go to Brazil for their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles Friday night in São Paulo at Corinthians Arena.
Republican state Rep. John Macco, who represents the 88th Assembly District in Brown County, Wisconsin, is concerned about safety in the city.
“Their national holiday, their equivalent to Fourth of July, is this Saturday, the 7th, the day after our football game. They are predicting major upheaval. And when you look at some of the riots and some of the other issues that have gone on there, that is not a place that we should be in right now,” Macco said.
Macco said it would be in the NFL’s best interest to move the game back to the United States.
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There is also concern about smoke in the city coming from Amazon wildfires.
Brazil has one of the largest NFL fan bases in the world.
The Packers boarded a flight to Brazil on Wednesday.
No injuries were reported after a fire broke out in equipment inside a large fish processing building at 3 State Fish Pier late Wednesday morning.
Gloucester fire companies responded to a working fire at 11:05 a.m. in a portion of the expansive industrial complex on the pier with a “Cape Seafoods Gloucester” sign on the exterior. They made quick work of the fire, according to a social media post by Gloucester Firefighters Local 762.
“Another great stop Group 1,” the post read.
“Upon arrival we had some thick, black smoke coming out the windows,” Deputy Chief Andrew McRobb, the Group 1 shift commander. said. “Employees informed me that it was a fiberglass turbine that got going, so it was fiberglass burning.”
“Crews showed up, made an offensive attack with an inch-and-three-quarter (hose), finished putting the fire out and we are in the process of venting the building right now,” he said at 11:45 a.m.
“No injuries,” McRobb said. “Crews did a search of the building,” he said, but nobody was inside when crews arrived.
“A lot of the employees did the bulk of the work prior to our arrival,” McRobb said. When asked what business this was, McRobb said it was “some type of fish processing.”
Fire companies responded to both sides of the large complex; Engine 1 and the deputy chief to the North Channel side of the building, and Ladder 1, Engine 5 and Engine 2 to the South Channel side. Also responding was Beauport Ambulance Service and a Gloucester Fire Rescue squad. The Police Department’s patrol boat was seen on the water in the North Channel.
After the fire was extinguished, a couple of firefighters could be seen opening a high window along the back of the facility to vent smoke. Some workers standing outside said everyone was OK when asked.
The company, Cape Seafoods, Inc., was able to remain open for business after firefighters conducted extensive ventilation of the building.
As forest fires become more frequent, our garden plants will continue to sit under smoky skies. But how does this affect the lifecycle of our favourite flowers, herbs, and ornamentals? Will our veggies have a smoky flavour? Let’s discuss what we do know about the effects of forest fires on plants in the garden.
Purple Coneflower
Wildfires are becoming part of the summer norm. It seems as though a bad wildfire season went from happening once a decade to every other year.
My home city of Vancouver has reported the worst air quality in the world on multiple occasions. What is normally a gorgeous city surrounded by forests, mountains, and ocean air, was trapped in a haze of smoke that wouldn’t let you see the horizon.
A couple years ago, we had a record-breaking heatwave hit us in June (WAY too early). Forest fires erupted across the province, and wildfire season was off to an early start. The wildfires destroyed the village of Lytton, BC, in a matter of hours, just after breaking the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada.
I wish I was wrong about the increased frequency of wildfires, but the stats agree. Canada’s National Observer reports that wildfires in BC are burning 10 times more than they were in the 1990s.
In 2023, 2.84 million hectares were burned in BC, which is double the area of any previous year on record.
With the increase of wildfires, I can’t help but think about my garden. While I can hide away inside and filter out the smoky air, my plants stay outside in the haze. What exactly are the effects of forest fires on plants in the garden?
Read on and find out. You might just be surprised!
Garden in full bloom during wildfire season.
Why Forest Fires Are Good
Long before forest fires started due to cigarette butts and unattended campfires, wildfires occurred naturally in nature from lightning strikes. Natural disturbances like fires, disease, drought, windstorms, and floods may all sound scary, but the damage they do all play a part.
Just like sun and rain, wildfires play a role in the forest’s lifecycle. Some forests, including boreal forests, rely on fires for regeneration and regrowth. Fires release nutrients stored on the forest floor within old logs and leaf litter.
The open canopy allows for new growth to get enough sunlight to grow. It also rids the forest of weak and diseased trees. With enough time, small trees replace large ones.
Other trees, such as the lodgepole pine or jack pine actually require fire in order to reproduce. The heat from the fires opens the pinecones, releasing their seed.
While wildfires are good and part of a forest’s lifecycle, they are growing at an alarming rate. The more human-caused fires we can prevent, the better.
Wildfires allow for a forest reset, releasing nutrients back into the soil.
How Wildfires Affected My Garden
For seven or eight years now, I’ve experienced summers with consistent wildfire smoke. By now, I know to anticipate it as part of the gardening season. Over the years, I’ve noticed a change in my own garden due to the smoke.
A couple of years ago, one echinacea stood out. Normally, echinacea finishes growing and has gone to seed by the end of October or early November. But by October, my echinacea was much sturdier than normal, trying so hard to bloom, go to seed, and complete its life cycle. Despite the bad conditions caused by a severely smoky summer, it was SO determined.
This resulted in a full bloom in November. The bloom was so steadfast that I had a layer of ice covering the flower. It’s a combination I never thought I would see!
Smoke causes stress in plants, as they feel the change in the air and recognize the danger. Every plant will react to this stress a little differently. In the case of the echinacea, it delayed the bloom as it wasn’t able to earlier.
Most often, the smoke will force the plant to become stronger, root down, and force it to finish its cycle. A plant’s sole goal is to reproduce, and when there’s a threat, it will try to get its job done as soon as possible.
This pressure to go through a cycle faster also causes seeds to germinate. You may notice dormant weed seeds (and other plants) will germinate more or earlier than usual. Essentially, wildfires trigger a panic response in garden plants!
Echinacea flowers. I wish I had a picture of the ice-covered echinacea!
What the Experts Have to Say
It’s not just me who has noticed this change! According to a study published in 2020, smoke does not block out as much sunlight as you may have initially thought (something to consider in regards to your skin as well as the garden. Wear sunscreen!).
The ash that lands on the leaves of the plant can reduce photosynthesis, but only about 4% of sunlight is blocked out by the particles.
Smoke actually increases the amount of filtered light, as the haze helps to diffuse the light. The scattered sunlight allows the light to reach more than the upper leaves of a dense canopy, increasing the amount of diffused light by about a third. This means the plant can use the light twice as efficiently, and productivity increases.
However, the ash that lands on plants can clog a leaf’s stomata. They act as the plants ‘lungs,’ allowing the exchange of gas and water loss. Clogging can reduce gas exchange in the plant, triggering stress.
As for the ash, wood ash is a common soil amendment. It contains calcium, potassium, phosphorous, and other trace minerals. When manmade items burn, that’s when we don’t want the ash in our gardens and in our lungs.
Ash can clog a leaf’s stomata, triggering a stress response in the plant.
Can Smoke Contaminate Food?
This is the question I hear most often when it comes to the effects of forest fires on plants. If smoke is in the air, will your vegetables have a smoky-infused taste? A good place to turn to for the answer is the wine industry.
Many wildfires, from California’s Napa Valley to BC’s Okanagan, occur in wine country. Wildfires already affect vineyards that rely heavily on tourism and tastings, but they may also change the taste of the grape crops.
Grapes grown during a wildfire season should be tested for the compounds that can cause smoke taint. Specific to wine, smoke taint is a bad taste (ashtray-tasting kind of bad) that affects wine made from grapes exposed to smoke.
Rinsing the grapes won’t help as the smoke phenols penetrate the grape skin and bond with the sugars. Know as glycosylation, the process cannot be detected beforehand. Once the grapes are fermented into wine, the bonds break and the phenols become volatile.
However, this process is exclusive to only grapes and doesn’t always occur. Poor winemakers! Other fruits and vegetables, in my experience, don’t get any kind of smoky flavour. The vegetables and fruit taste the same as they did during a normal season.
Grapes can be affected by smoke taint if they experience too much smoke in the growing season.
Wash Your Vegetables
That being said, your vegetables and fruit will likely be covered in a layer of ash. Ash burned from trees and other plants is relatively harmless to consume, but burnt manmade items can contain chemicals, metals, and other nasty things.
Even if it is not visible to the eye, make sure to wash your vegetables and fruit beforehand. Before harvesting, rinse your plants with the garden hose. Once you bring produce inside, wash the produce again, and give your hands a good scrubbing as well.
If you’re still concerned, you can peel any produce and remove any extra leaves.
How to Protect Your Garden from Wildfires
Without a doubt, gardens will continue to be affected by wildfires and other natural disturbances. As climate change and human interference make these occurrences more common, we can expect the future of gardening to change to match the upheaval.
Plant fire-resistant plants. There is not a ton you can do to protect your garden from a potential fire, but some plants can help to slow down fire if you live in an at-risk area. Planting in strategic zones with fire-resistant plants closest to your house and a ring of taller trees further away helps to landscape for fire safety. Here is an excellent resource from FireFree that goes into further detail.
Wash your vegetables. As mentioned earlier, wash all your produce from your garden if you live in an area that has experienced wildfire smoke.
Water. When plants are undergoing stress and excessive heat, they may need more water than normal. If possible, try drip irrigation and a timer so you can stay inside while your garden gets its water. Smoke also dehydrates our bodies, so make sure to keep yourself and the plants hydrated.
Wear sunscreen. When you’re outside in the garden while it’s smoky, you are not protected from the sun. Continue to wear sunscreen and a hat, and keep hydrated as if it were a normal summer day. If you do happen to get too much sun exposure, this after-sun lotion is very helpful.
Keep your health first. Breathing in a ton of smoke is not good for your health. Try to keep gardening tasks to a minimum when it’s smoky. Let the grass and weeds grow while you keep your lungs healthy inside.
If you had wildfires and smoke in your area, I am curious to hear how about the effects of forest fires on plants in your garden. Leave a comment down below to share your experiences.
If you stood on the banks of the Cache la Poudre River in Colorado after the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire, the rumbling water may have appeared black. This slurry of ash and charred soil cascaded toward the reservoirs that supply drinking water for the downstream city of Fort Collins, home to around 170,000 people. Although the water looked clear again several weeks later, Charles Rhoades, a research biogeochemist at the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, says he is still seeing contaminants from the fire in the watershed.
Recent studies have found that while some watersheds begin to recover within five years of a fire, others may be fundamentally altered, never fully returning to their pre-fire conditions. And with wildfires becoming more common, much larger, and burning for longer as the world warms, hydrologists, ecologists, and water-management officials are scrambling to understand and mitigate the consequences fire-contaminated water can have on humans and ecosystems.
In a healthy forest, there’s a lot of “litter” on the ground—pine needles, dead leaves, debris. “It acts like a sponge,” says Rhoades. “As rainfall comes in, it moves through that layer slowly and can trickle into the soil.” When fires scorch the land, they burn that vegetation and organic matter, leaving behind a bare landscape that’s highly susceptible to erosion. Instead of filtering into the ground, rain will slide right off the surface, moving quickly, picking up soil, and carrying it into streams and rivers. Not only does this cause sediment build-up, but it can disrupt the water chemistry. Rhoades found elevated levels of nutrients, like nitrogen, in rivers almost 15 years after a high-severity fire. These nutrients can lead to harmful algal blooms, although they don’t directly impact drinking water quality. But other sites show increased levels of heavy metals like manganese, iron, and even lead after a major fire, which can complicate water-treatment processes.
Other regions across the western US, like Taos, New Mexico, and Santa Cruz, California, have faced similar issues, as wildfires increase in frequency and duration due to climate change and decades of fire-suppression practices. For much of the 20th century, the US Forest Service and other land management agencies aimed to keep all fires from burning, believing it was the best way to protect forests. But naturally occuring, low-severity fires improve forest health, preventing the accumulation of dense underbrush and dead trees that act as fuel.
“We have this huge buildup of fuel on the landscape from 140 years of fire suppression, and we know that the consequences of that—combined with increases in severe weather—make the likelihood of really intense fire behavior much higher than it used to be,” says Alissa Cordner, an environmental sociologist and professor at Whitman College in Washington state and volunteer wildland firefighter. “We also have more and more people living next to forests and migrating to places in the wildland-urban interface.” Any municipality is at risk of water contamination if a wildfire burns through its watershed.
“Consumers rarely know about all this stuff that’s going on under the hood,” says Rhoades. After a wildfire, water providers work tirelessly to ensure residents don’t experience the effects in their taps, which requires collaboration between land agencies, like the Forest Service, USGS, and local governing bodies. They perform regular water testing, install sediment-control structures, and sometimes, alter water treatment protocols to deal with the increased load of contaminants.
This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
No matter where you live, extreme weather can hit your area, causing damage to homes, power outages, and dangerous or deadly conditions. If you’re on the coast, it may be a hurricane; in the Midwest or South, a tornado; in the West, wildfires; and as we’ve seen in recent years, anywhere can experience heat waves or flash flooding.
Living through a disaster and its aftermath can be both traumatic and chaotic, from the immediate losses of life and belongings to conflicting information around where to access aid. The weeks and months after may be even more difficult, as the attention on your community is gone but civic services and events have stalled or changed drastically.
Grist compiled this resource guide to help you stay prepared and informed. It looks at everything from how to find the most accurate forecasts to signing up for emergency alerts to the roles that different agencies play in disaster aid.
Flooding in Merced, California, following a “bomb cyclone” in January 2023.
Photograph: JOSH EDELSON/Getty Images
Where to Find the Facts on Disasters
These days, many people find out about disasters in their area via social media. But it’s important to make sure the information you’re receiving is accurate. Here’s where to find the facts on extreme weather and the most reliable places to check for emergency alerts and updates.
Your local emergency manager: Your city or county will have an emergency management department, which is part of the local government. In larger cities, it’s often a separate agency; in smaller communities, fire chiefs or sheriff’s offices may manage emergency response and alerts. Emergency managers are responsible for communicating with the public about disasters, managing rescue and response efforts, and coordinating between different agencies. They usually have an SMS-based emergency alert system, so sign up for those via your local website. (Note: Some cities have multiple languages available, but most emergency alerts are only in English.) Many emergency management agencies are active on Facebook, so check there for updates as well.
Local news: The local television news and social media accounts from verified news sources will have live updates during and after a storm. Follow your local newspaper and television station on Facebook or other social media, or check their websites regularly.
KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toured the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy on Thursday in his first visit to the border area since his forces launched their surprise cross-border offensive more than two weeks ago, seizing dozens of Russian villages and the town of Sudhza.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces have claimed control of another settlement in the Russian region of Kursk and taken more Russian prisoners of war whom he hopes to swap for captured Ukrainians, adding to what he calls an “exchange fund.”
“Another settlement in the Kursk region is now under Ukrainian control, and we have replenished the exchange fund,” Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform X after hearing a report from the military commander, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
While he traveled to an area close to the area of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia, he did not go into Russia itself — a move that would have been regarded by Moscow as a provocation. He has previously said that Ukraine has no plan to occupy the area long term but wants to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks from that area into Ukraine.
After his meeting with local military authorities, Zelenskyy said the Kursk operation launched Aug. 6 has led to a decrease in Russian shelling and a reduction in civilian casualties in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
The daring Ukrainian foray into the Kursk region has rattled the Kremlin, showing Russia’s vulnerability and shattered President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to pretend that the country has been largely unaffected by the 2 1/2 year war.
Authorities in Kursk began to put up concrete shelters at bus stops and other locations around the city to protect it from shelling and plan similar work in Zheleznogorsk and Kurchatov, where the Kursk nuclear power plant is located, the region’s acting Gov. Alexei Smirnov said on his Telegram channel.
Putin said in a video call with officials that he has ordered the creation of self-defense units in Russian regions bordering Ukraine.
Smirnov reported to Putin that over 133,000 people have left areas affected by the fighting in the Kursk region, while more than 19,000 have stayed.
The governor of Bryansk, another Russian region bordering Ukraine, said authorities in the region have conducted training for emergency evacuation from border areas in case it is needed.
Separately, the Defense Ministry reported repelling Ukrainian attacks near the villages of Komarovka, Malaya Loknya, Korenevka and several other settlements in the Kursk region.
Ukraine’s capture of Russian territory comes as Ukraine continues to lose ground in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its military has claimed control of the village of Mezhove in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region which Moscow seeks to take entirely.
Ukraine’s push into Russia marks the first capture of Russian territory since World War II.
It comes as both sides in the war use drones to attack far within enemy lines.
Ukraine attacked Russia overnight with 28 drones, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said. Thirteen were shot down over the Volgograd region, seven over the Rostov region, four over the Belgorod region, two over the Voronezh region, and one each over the Bryansk and Kursk regions, the ministry said.
Andrei Bocharov, governor of the Volgograd region, said Thursday that a military facility caught fire after being attacked by drones in the area of Marinovka where a Russian military air base is located. He did not specify what was damaged.
Videos shared on Russian social media showed an explosion in the night sky, reportedly near the base. Marinovka is about 300 kilometers (185 miles) east of the Ukrainian border.
Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ukraine’s Security Service and the Special Operation Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted the drone attack Wednesday night, striking the Marinovka airfield, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russian law enforcement, said one drone was taken down several kilometers (miles) from the airfield near Marinovka and that wreckage from another fell on a trailer near the air base, causing it to catch fire.
Data from NASA fire satellites, which monitor Earth for forest blazes, showed fires breaking out around the air base’s apron, where fighter jets were previously seen parked.
Another fire burned Thursday in Russia’s Rostov region, where firefighters struggled for the fifth day to put out a fire at an oil depot in the town of Proletarsk. State news agency Tass said 47 firefighters have been injured while putting out the blaze.
Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed Thursday by The Associated Press showed the fire at the oil depot still intensely burning as of Wednesday. Storage tanks at the facility appeared engulfed in flames. Visible flames could be seen in the images, with a thick black smoke cloud drifting west over the city of Proletarsk.
___
Associated Press writers Emma Burrows in London and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.
ISTANBUL — Wildfires raged across western Turkey for a third straight day Saturday, exacerbated by high winds and warm temperatures, authorities said.
More than 130 fires have erupted across the country in the past week, according to Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate. Most have been brought under control, but eight major fires continued in a number of provinces including Izmir, Aydin, Manisa, Karabuk and Bolu.
Thousands of firefighters were tackling the blazes on land and from the air, with dozens of aircraft and hundreds of vehicles aiding in the emergency response.
Thousands of people have been evacuated from the affected areas, but there have been no reported casualties, according to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli, who spoke to reporters Saturday as he toured the affected provinces.
Yumakli cited low humidity, high winds and high temperatures as exacerbating factors. The General Directorate of Forestry warned people not to light fires outside for the next 10 days because of the weather conditions across western Turkey, warning of a 70% greater risk of wildfires. Firefighters extinguished on Friday a blaze in Canakkale province that threatened World War I memorials and graves at the Gallipoli battle site.
At the peninsula where an Allied landing was beaten back by Ottoman troops in a yearlong campaign in 1915, the flames reached Canterbury Cemetery, where soldiers from New Zealand are interred. Images of the site in northwest Turkey showed soot-blackened gravestones in a scorched garden looking out over the Aegean Sea.
Meanwhile, authorities detained four people in Bolu in connection with the fires, two of whom were arrested and two released.
In June, a fire spread through settlements in southeast Turkey, killing 11 people and leaving dozens of others requiring medical treatment.
LOS ANGELES — As wildfires scorched swaths of land in the wine country of Sonoma County in 2020, sending ash flying and choking the air with smoke, Maria Salinas harvested grapes.
Her saliva turned black from inhaling the toxins, until one day she had so much trouble breathing she was rushed to the emergency room. When she felt better, she went right back to work as the fires raged on.
“What forces us to work is necessity,” Salinas said. “We always expose ourselves to danger out of necessity, whether by fire or disaster, when the weather changes, when it’s hot or cold.”
As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of wildfires around the world, a new study shows that farmworkers are paying a heavy price by being exposed to high levels of air pollution. And in Sonoma County, the focus of the work, researchers found that a program aimed at determining when it was safe to work during wildfires did not adequately protect farmworkers.
They recommended a series of steps to safeguard the workers’ health, including air quality monitors at work sites, stricter requirements for employers, emergency plans and trainings in various languages, post-exposure health screenings and hazard pay.
Farmworkers are “experiencing first and hardest what the rest of us are just starting to understand,” Max Bell Alper, executive director of the labor coalition North Bay Jobs with Justice, said Wednesday during a webinar devoted to the research, published in July in the journal GeoHealth. “And I think in many ways that’s analogous to what’s happening all over the country. What we are experiencing in California is now happening everywhere.”
Farmworkers face immense pressure to work in dangerous conditions. Many are poor and don’t get paid unless they work. Others who are in the country illegally are more vulnerable because of limited English proficiency, lack of benefits, discrimination and exploitation. These realities make it harder for them to advocate for better working conditions and basic rights.
Researchers examined data from the 2020 Glass and LNU Lightning Complex fires in northern California’s Sonoma County, a region famous for its wine. During those blazes, many farmworkers kept working, often in evacuation zones deemed unsafe for the general population. Because smoke and ash can contaminate grapes, growers were under increasing pressure to get workers into fields.
The researchers looked at air quality data from a single AirNow monitor, operated by the Environmental Protection Agency and used to alert the public to unsafe levels, and 359 monitors from PurpleAir, which offers sensors that people can install in their homes or businesses.
From July 31 to Nov. 6, 2020, the AirNow sensor recorded 21 days of air pollution the EPA considers unhealthy for sensitive groups and 13 days of poor air quality unhealthy for everyone. The PurpleAir monitors found 27 days of air the EPA deems unhealthy for sensitive groups and 16 days of air toxic to everyone.
And on several occasions, the smoke was worse at night. That’s an important detail because some employers asked farmworkers to work at night due in part to cooler temperatures and less concentrated smoke, said Michael Méndez, one of the researchers and an assistant professor at University of California-Irvine.
“Hundreds of farmworkers were exposed to the toxic air quality of wildfire smoke, and that could have detrimental impact to their health,” he said. “There wasn’t any post-exposure monitoring of these farmworkers.”
The researchers also examined the county’s Agricultural Pass program, which allows farmworkers and others in agriculture into mandatory evacuation areas to conduct essential activities like water or harvest crops. They found that the approval process lacked clear standards or established protocols, and that requirements of the application were little enforced. In some cases, for example, applications did not include the number of workers in worksites and didn’t have detailed worksite locations.
Irva Hertz-Picciotto, a professor of public health sciences at the University of California-Davis who was not part of the study, said symptoms of inhaling wildfire smoke — eye irritation, coughing, sneezing and difficulty breathing — can start within just a few minutes of exposure to smoke with fine particulate matter.
Exposure to those tiny particles, which can go deep into the lungs and bloodstream, has been shown to increase the risk of numerous health conditions such as heart and lung disease, asthma and low birth weight. Its effects are compounded when extreme heat is also present. Another recent study found that inhaling tiny particulates from wildfire smoke can increase the risk of dementia.
Anayeli Guzmán, who like Salinas worked to harvest grapes during the Sonoma County fires, remembers feeling fatigue and burning in her eyes and throat from the smoke and ash. But she never went to the doctor for a post-exposure health check up.
“We don’t have that option,” Guzmán, who has no health coverage, said in an interview. “If I go get a checkup, I’d lose a day of work or would be left to pay a medical bill.”
In the webinar, Guzman said it was “sad that vineyard owners are only worried about the grapes” that may be tainted by smoke, and not about how smoke affects workers.
A farmworker health survey report released in 2021 by the University of California-Merced and the National Agricultural Workers Survey found that fewer than 1 in 5 farmworkers have employer-based health coverage.
Hertz-Picciotto said farmworkers are essential workers because the nation’s food supply depends on them.
“From a moral point of view and a health point of view, it’s really reprehensible that the situation has gotten bad and things have not been put in place to protect farmworkers, and this paper should be really important in trying to bring that to light with real recommendations,” she said.
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The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.
KANAIO, Hawaii (AP) — Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Depression. Overwhelmed.
Janice Dapitan began her second counseling session by writing those words on a whiteboard, reflecting what she felt in that moment. The day fire destroyed her hometown of Lahaina — and the struggles that have followed for nearly a year — still haunted her.
The fire killed her uncle. It burned the homes of seven family members. Her daughter narrowly escaped the blaze with her two children, but lost her house and moved to Las Vegas. The house Dapitan shares with her husband, Kalani, survived, but now it overlooks the burn zone. The view is a painful, constant reminder that the life they’d known is gone.
“There are so many triggers,” she said on a blustery July day. Her long black braids fell over a tank top with the word “Lahaina” printed in gold. “We can be okay today, and tomorrow it could be different. Everything is uncertain. Every day is a different challenge. We want to stay joyful, but it’s a process.”
Janice Dapitan, left, cries during an interview with husband Kalani, right, following an equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
One year after the Maui fires, thousands of residents share Dapitan’s struggle. They grieve the losses of loved ones and generational homes. They are haunted by their traumatic escapes and even by the guilt of surviving. They’ve endured months of instability — switching hotel rooms, schools and jobs. An estimated 1,500 families have left Maui, forced to start over thousands of miles from home.
But lately, Dapitan has enjoyed some relief, thanks to an equine-assisted therapy program at the Spirit Horse Ranch in Maui’s rural upcountry, an hour’s drive from Lahaina.
“The connection with the horses is different than connecting with machines or humans,” said Dapitan. “It’s almost like instant healing.”
After large-scale disasters, restoring a community’s mental wellness is as important as rebuilding infrastructure, experts say. And just as constructing an entire town can take years, so can healing its residents.
“We can be so focused on the bricks-and-mortar rebuild — because that’s challenging enough as it is — that we don’t create space for that healing,” said Jolie Wills, a cognitive scientist who led the mental health response for the Red Cross after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.
While some survivors need professional support to overcome their trauma, a lot of recovery can happen outside of a clinic’s walls. Maui residents have leaned on programs that help them reconnect — to themselves, their community, land and culture.
Horses to process trauma
After writing down her words, Dapitan sat on a folding chair inside a horse corral. A few feet away, Maverick, a 22-year-old Tennessee Walker rolled in the dirt.
Janice Dapitan brushes a horse named Maverick during a philanthropy-supported equine therapy program at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
The program’s founder, Paige DePonte, sat in front of her and began a technique called brainspotting. She moved a small wand in front of Dapitan’s eyes to stimulate certain eye movements believed to help the brain process trauma. Later, Dapitan approached Maverick. She brushed his dark mane. After leading him once around the corral, she stopped, rested her arms over his back, and began to cry.
“He just lets you lean on him,” she said. “I can feel myself healing because somebody is at least letting me lean on them.”
For her husband Kalani, the ranch’s quiet isolation, tucked on a hillside overlooking Maui’s south coast, gives him space to process what has happened. “Before we even met the horses, I was in tears,” he said. “The peacefulness really breaks your walls down.”
Kalani Dapitan talks to a horse named Missy during a philanthropy-supported equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Equine-assisted therapy participants don’t typically ride horses, but the animals’ presence alone can soothe people as they face their trauma. They might brush, walk and even talk to the animals, or the horses might just be nearby as facilitators take them through other methods of counseling or psychotherapy.
“Horses are incredible healers,” said DePonte, who started the program on her family’s cattle ranch in 2021 after observing the transformational effect the animals had on her own trauma recovery. “They are in a place of coherence all the time, not thinking about tomorrow, not thinking about yesterday.”
The program, now supported by grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way, and other private donors, has provided more than 1,300 sessions for impacted residents.
Dapitan had already begun therapy before the fire to recover from a previous trauma, but she said time at the ranch feels different. “I think I got the most out of the horses in two days versus the year that I’ve been having regular counseling.”
Healing through connection
Holistic programs like these have helped meet the overwhelming need for support services after the Aug. 8, 2023 fire that killed at least 102 people and displaced 12,000.
On top of the harrowing experiences of losing homes and loved ones, survivors are stressed and exhausted from the volatility of daily life — moving hotel rooms, changing schools, losing income.
“It’s been a pretty significant impact on people’s mental health,” said Tia Hartsock, director of Hawaii’s office of wellness and resilience. “Navigating bureaucratic systems while in a traumatic response has been very challenging.”
Kalani Dapitan reaches to pet a horse named Missy during an equine therapy session at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
In a Hawaii Department of Health survey of affected families two months after the fire, almost three-quarters of respondents said at least one person in their household had felt nervous, anxious or depressed in the preceding two weeks. At the six-month anniversary, more than half of survivors and one-third of all Maui residents surveyed by the University of Hawaii reported feeling depressive symptoms.
That’s expected after a disaster of such scale, said Wills, calling it “very normal reactions to a very abnormal situation.”
Providers, nonprofits, philanthropic groups and the government collaborated to reduce barriers to mental health treatment, like paying for people’s therapy sessions and staffing shelters and FEMA events with mental health practitioners.
But they knew residents also needed other options. “Clinical support wasn’t necessarily going to be right for everyone,” said Justina Acevedo-Cross, senior program manager at the Hawaii Community Foundation.
Numerous public and private funders are supporting programs that re-engage residents with land and people, which Hartsock calls “unbelievably helpful in the healing.”
Several are rooted in Native Hawaiian healing practices. Cultural practitioners with the organization Hui Ho’omalu offer lomilomi, or Hawaiian massage. Those sessions typically lead into kukakuka, or deep conversation, with Native Hawaiians trained in mental health support.
Impacted families also maintain taro patches, restore native plants and take cultural classes on protected land stewarded by the organization Ka’ehu. Aviva Libitsky and her son Nakana, 7, volunteer there at least once a week, scooping invasive snails out of kalo pools and cleaning litter from the shoreline.
Libitsky felt anxious for months after fleeing the Lahaina fire and losing the home she’d lived in since 2010. Working on the land calms her. “It helps you channel that frenetic energy and put it toward something useful.”
The Spirit Horse Ranch founder Paige DePonte walks with Maverick, one of the horses at her equine-assisted trauma-informed care facility, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
She and Nakana recently learned how to weave bracelets from the leaves of hala trees at one of Ka’ehu’s cultural workshops. They’ve gone to Spirit Horse Ranch, too. “We just focus on new opportunities, creating new memories.”
A new wave of need
As Maui enters its second year of recovery, providers are preparing for a new wave of people to seek help.
The last families are moving out of hotels and into the interim housing meant to carry them over until Lahaina rebuilds. That sudden stillness can trigger bigger emotions, said Acevedo-Cross. “They’re able to feel a bit more.”
Many who weren’t directly affected by the fires are now experiencing its impacts, as rents skyrocket, tourism jobs disappear, and friends and family move away.
For some, healing won’t come until Lahaina is rebuilt and the community can return home.
Janice Dapitan, right, wipes away tears during a session, part of a philanthropy-supported equine therapy program, with Paige DePonte as a horse named Maverick stands nearby at the Spirit Horse Ranch, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Kula, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
“We don’t have a hometown anymore,” said Kalani Dapitan. He misses his friends and family, and most of all his daughter. He worries constantly about what will happen to Lahaina, especially as a Native Hawaiian. “We’re unsure of our future, how our cultural aspect is going to pan out.”
With so much still uncertain, time at Spirit Horse Ranch helps the Dapitans stay present.
At the end of her session, Janice returned to the whiteboard to write the words that summed up her feelings. “Relaxed,” she wrote, and looked up. “That’s all.”
_____________
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
KANAIO, Hawaii — Fear. Anxiety. Anger. Depression. Overwhelmed.
Janice Dapitan began her second counseling session by writing those words on a whiteboard, reflecting what she felt in that moment. The day fire destroyed her hometown of Lahaina — and the struggles that have followed for nearly a year — still haunted her.
The fire killed her uncle. It burned the homes of seven family members. Her daughter narrowly escaped the blaze with her two children, but lost her house and moved to Las Vegas. The house Dapitan shares with her husband, Kalani, survived, but now it overlooks the burn zone. The view is a painful, constant reminder that the life they’d known is gone.
“There are so many triggers,” she said on a blustery July day. Her long black braids fell over a tank top with the word “Lahaina” printed in gold. “We can be okay today, and tomorrow it could be different. Everything is uncertain. Every day is a different challenge. We want to stay joyful, but it’s a process.”
One year after the Maui fires, thousands of residents share Dapitan’s struggle. They grieve the losses of loved ones and generational homes. They are haunted by their traumatic escapes and even by the guilt of surviving. They’ve endured months of instability — switching hotel rooms, schools and jobs. An estimated 1,500 families have left Maui, forced to start over thousands of miles from home.
But lately, Dapitan has enjoyed some relief, thanks to an equine-assisted therapy program at the Spirit Horse Ranch in Maui’s rural upcountry, an hour’s drive from Lahaina.
“The connection with the horses is different than connecting with machines or humans,” said Dapitan. “It’s almost like instant healing.”
After large-scale disasters, restoring a community’s mental wellness is as important as rebuilding infrastructure, experts say. And just as constructing an entire town can take years, so can healing its residents.
“We can be so focused on the bricks-and-mortar rebuild — because that’s challenging enough as it is — that we don’t create space for that healing,” said Jolie Wills, a cognitive scientist who led the mental health response for the Red Cross after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.
While some survivors need professional support to overcome their trauma, a lot of recovery can happen outside of a clinic’s walls. Maui residents have leaned on programs that help them reconnect — to themselves, their community, land and culture.
After writing down her words, Dapitan sat on a folding chair inside a horse corral. A few feet away, Maverick, a 22-year-old Tennessee Walker rolled in the dirt.
The program’s founder, Paige DePonte, sat in front of her and began a technique called brainspotting. She moved a small wand in front of Dapitan’s eyes to stimulate certain eye movements believed to help the brain process trauma. Later, Dapitan approached Maverick. She brushed his dark mane. After leading him once around the corral, she stopped, rested her arms over his back, and began to cry.
“He just lets you lean on him,” she said. “I can feel myself healing because somebody is at least letting me lean on them.”
For her husband Kalani, the ranch’s quiet isolation, tucked on a hillside overlooking Maui’s south coast, gives him space to process what has happened. “Before we even met the horses, I was in tears,” he said. “The peacefulness really breaks your walls down.”
Equine-assisted therapy participants don’t typically ride horses, but the animals’ presence alone can soothe people as they face their trauma. They might brush, walk and even talk to the animals, or the horses might just be nearby as facilitators take them through other methods of counseling or psychotherapy.
“Horses are incredible healers,” said DePonte, who started the program on her family’s cattle ranch in 2021 after observing the transformational effect the animals had on her own trauma recovery. “They are in a place of coherence all the time, not thinking about tomorrow, not thinking about yesterday.”
The program, now supported by grants from the Hawaii Community Foundation, Maui United Way, and other private donors, has provided more than 1,300 sessions for impacted residents.
Dapitan had already begun therapy before the fire to recover from a previous trauma, but she said time at the ranch feels different. “I think I got the most out of the horses in two days versus the year that I’ve been having regular counseling.”
Holistic programs like these have helped meet the overwhelming need for support services after the Aug. 8, 2023 fire that killed at least 102 people and displaced 12,000.
On top of the harrowing experiences of losing homes and loved ones, survivors are stressed and exhausted from the volatility of daily life — moving hotel rooms, changing schools, losing income.
“It’s been a pretty significant impact on people’s mental health,” said Tia Hartsock, director of Hawaii’s office of wellness and resilience. “Navigating bureaucratic systems while in a traumatic response has been very challenging.”
In a Hawaii Department of Health survey of affected families two months after the fire, almost three-quarters of respondents said at least one person in their household had felt nervous, anxious or depressed in the preceding two weeks. At the six-month anniversary, more than half of survivors and one-third of all Maui residents surveyed by the University of Hawaii reported feeling depressive symptoms.
That’s expected after a disaster of such scale, said Wills, calling it “very normal reactions to a very abnormal situation.”
Providers, nonprofits, philanthropic groups and the government collaborated to reduce barriers to mental health treatment, like paying for people’s therapy sessions and staffing shelters and FEMA events with mental health practitioners.
But they knew residents also needed other options. “Clinical support wasn’t necessarily going to be right for everyone,” said Justina Acevedo-Cross, senior program manager at the Hawaii Community Foundation.
Numerous public and private funders are supporting programs that re-engage residents with land and people, which Hartsock calls “unbelievably helpful in the healing.”
Several are rooted in Native Hawaiian healing practices. Cultural practitioners with the organization Hui Ho’omalu offer lomilomi, or Hawaiian massage. Those sessions typically lead into kukakuka, or deep conversation, with Native Hawaiians trained in mental health support.
Impacted families also maintain taro patches, restore native plants and take cultural classes on protected land stewarded by the organization Ka’ehu. Aviva Libitsky and her son Nakana, 7, volunteer there at least once a week, scooping invasive snails out of kalo pools and cleaning litter from the shoreline.
Libitsky felt anxious for months after fleeing the Lahaina fire and losing the home she’d lived in since 2010. Working on the land calms her. “It helps you channel that frenetic energy and put it toward something useful.”
She and Nakana recently learned how to weave bracelets from the leaves of hala trees at one of Ka’ehu’s cultural workshops. They’ve gone to Spirit Horse Ranch, too. “We just focus on new opportunities, creating new memories.”
As Maui enters its second year of recovery, providers are preparing for a new wave of people to seek help.
The last families are moving out of hotels and into the interim housing meant to carry them over until Lahaina rebuilds. That sudden stillness can trigger bigger emotions, said Acevedo-Cross. “They’re able to feel a bit more.”
Many who weren’t directly affected by the fires are now experiencing its impacts, as rents skyrocket, tourism jobs disappear, and friends and family move away.
For some, healing won’t come until Lahaina is rebuilt and the community can return home.
“We don’t have a hometown anymore,” said Kalani Dapitan. He misses his friends and family, and most of all his daughter. He worries constantly about what will happen to Lahaina, especially as a Native Hawaiian. “We’re unsure of our future, how our cultural aspect is going to pan out.”
With so much still uncertain, time at Spirit Horse Ranch helps the Dapitans stay present.
At the end of her session, Janice returned to the whiteboard to write the words that summed up her feelings. “Relaxed,” she wrote, and looked up. “That’s all.”
_____________
Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
WASHINGTON — During the summer, Levena Lindahl closes off entire rooms, covers windows with blackout curtains and budgets to manage the monthly cost of electricity for air conditioning. But even then, the heat finds its way in.
“Going upstairs, it’s like walking into soup. It is so hot,” Lindahl said. “If I walk past my attic upstairs, you can feel the heat radiating through a closed door.”
Lindahl, 37, who lives in North Carolina, said her monthly electricity bills in the summer used to be around $100 years ago, but they’ve since doubled. She blames a gradual warming trend caused by climate change.
Around 7 in 10 Americans say in the last year extreme heat has had an impact on their electricity bills, ranging from minor to major, and most have seen at least a minor impact on their outdoor activities, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
As tens of millions of Americans swelter through another summer of historic heat waves, the survey’s findings reveal how extreme heat is changing people’s lives in big and small ways. The poll found that about 7 in 10 Americans have been personally affected by extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves over the past five years. That makes extreme heat a more common experience than other weather events or natural disasters like wildfires, major droughts and hurricanes, which up to one-third of U.S. adults said they’ve been personally affected by.
Sizable shares of Americans – around 4 in 10 – report that extreme heat has had at least a minor impact on their sleep, pets or exercise routine.
Jim Graham, 54, lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and worries about the safety of his dog’s paws when going on walks outside, especially when it gets above 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). To protect her feet, they head out for walks at 5:30 a.m. “This year it seems hotter than usual,” said Graham. His single-level home has central air conditioning and even setting the thermostat to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) runs him over $350 a month in electricity bills, a big jump from what he used to pay about a decade ago.
He’s not the only one watching the dollars add up: About 4 in 10 Americans say they’ve had unexpectedly expensive utility bills in the past year because of storms, flood, heat, or wildfires, including nearly half of homeowners.
Like Lindahl, many see a link to climate change. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults who have experienced some type of severe weather events or weather disasters in the last five years say they believe climate change was a contributing factor. Three in 10 think climate change was not a cause.
Last year Earth was 2.66 degrees Fahrenheit (1.48 degrees Celsius) warmer than it was before pre-industrial times, according to the European climate agency Copernicus. Some might perceive that increase as insignificant, but temperatures are unevenly fluctuating across the planet and can be dangerous to human health. Several regions of the U.S. set all-time temperature records this summer, and Las Vegas reached a scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.9 degrees Celsius) on July 7.
According to the poll, about 1 in 10 Americans say that extreme heat has had a major impact on their sleep in the past year, while about 3 in 10 say it’s had a minor impact and 55% say it’s had no impact. Hispanic Americans are more likely than white Americans to say their sleep has been affected, and lower-income Americans are also more likely than higher-income Americans to report an effect on their sleep.
The effects of extreme heat are more widely reported in the West and South. About half of people living in the West say their sleep has been impacted at least in a minor way by extreme heat, while about 4 in 10 people living in the South say their sleep has been impacted, compared to about 3 in 10 people living in the Midwest and Northeast. People living in the West and South are also more likely than those in the Northeast to say their exercise routines have been affected.
Other aspects of daily life – like jobs and commutes, the timing of events like weddings and reunions, and travel and vacation plans – have been less broadly disrupted, but their impact is disproportionately felt among specific groups of Americans. About one-quarter of Americans say that their travel or vacation plans have been impacted by extreme heat, with Hispanic and Black Americans more likely than white Americans to say this.
Even simply enjoying time outside has become more difficult for some. The poll found that about 6 in 10 Americans say extreme heat has impacted outdoor activities for themselves or their family.
In general, people who don’t believe climate change is happening are less likely to report being affected by various aspects of extreme heat compared to people who do. For instance, about 8 in 10 Americans who believe that climate change is happening say extreme heat has had at least a minor impact on their electricity bills, compared to half of Americans who aren’t sure climate change is happening or don’t think it’s happening.
Mario Cianchetti, 70, is a retired engineer who now lives in Sedona, Arizona. His home has solar panels and heat pumps, which he installed because he was interested in lowering his electricity bills to save money. “When you retire, you’re on a single fixed income. I didn’t want to have to deal with rising energy costs,” said Cianchetti, who identified himself as a political independent.
Cianchetti noted that temperatures feel unusually warm but said installing sustainable technologies in his house was a matter of finance. “It’s not that I don’t believe in climate change, yeah I believe we’re going into a hot cycle here, but I don’t believe that it’s man-caused.”
When it comes to general views of climate change, 70% of U.S. adults say climate change is happening. About 6 in 10 of those who believe climate change is happening say that it’s caused entirely or mostly by human activities, while another 3 in 10 say it’s caused equally by human activities and natural changes to the environment and 12% believe it’s primarily caused by natural environmental change. Nine in 10 Democrats, 7 in 10 independents and about half of Republicans say climate change is happening.
Those numbers are essentially unchanged from when the question was last asked in April and have been steady in recent years, although about half of Americans say they have become more concerned about climate change over the past year.
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The poll of 1,143 adults was conducted July 25-29, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
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O’Malley reported from Philadelphia.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire that swept into a Southern California hillside community this week destroyed five homes and damaged three others, authorities said Tuesday.
The flames erupted Monday afternoon and chased residents from the neighborhood in San Bernardino, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Los Angeles,
One firefighter was treated for a minor injury but there were no reports of injuries to residents, said Eric Sherwin, spokesperson for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
“How quickly this fire hit this community,” Sherwin said, “the fact that we have no civilians injured is truly a miracle.”
The fire was reported at 2:40 p.m. Monday and stopped progressing about three hours later after scorching 54 acres (22 hectares). Containment was holding at 75%, Sherwin said. All evacuations were lifted late Tuesday morning.
Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire, which erupted amid very dry and hot conditions that have made swaths of California quick to burn this summer.
In Northern California, firefighters battled the reawakened Park Fire, a massive blaze that re-exploded Monday after several days of slumber and grew by as much as 20 square miles (53 square kilometers), mostly in about 12 hours.
The Park Fire, California’s largest so far this year and the state’s fourth-largest on record, had already scorched nearly 647 square miles (1,676 square kilometers) by Tuesday morning.
Firefighters were told during their morning briefing to focus on safety and to be mindful of extreme fire behavior including intense and rapidly moving flames.
The Park Fire was allegedly ignited by arson on July 24 outside the Sacramento Valley city of Chico, and has destroyed 640 structures and damaged 52.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Several homes burned Monday as a fast-moving wildfire torched a California hillside community, triggering evacuations while hundreds of firefighters tried to control the blaze.
The Edgehill fire erupted in the 3300 block of Beverly Drive on Little Mountain about 2:40 p.m., according to San Bernardino County fire officials.
Early reports said the fire, fought by more than 200 firefighters, grew to at least 100 acres (40 hectares). By about 6 p.m., county officials said that the forward progress of the fire had been stopped, and that the blaze was holding at 54 acres (22 hectares) with 25% contained, the San Bernardino County Fire Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“At this point the fire is very much under control,” the department said.
Arson investigators were still trying to determine Monday evening how the fire started. One person was detained for a few hours but has been released, San Bernardino police said.
The Los Angeles Times reported that videos from the scene showed at least three homes consumed by fire, with residents fleeing their burning properties amid smoke-filled skies. One video circulating on social media showed a man hurrying up a hill while cradling a large turkey, flames raging behind him.
With San Bernardino temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) on Monday, the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for the area until 11 p.m. Tuesday when temperatures are expected to hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).
Evacuation orders were issued to all residents south of Ridge Line Drive and north of Edgehill Road, west to and including Beverly Drive, and east to Circle Road. As of 9 p.m. Monday, authorities said the evacuation orders would remain in effect.
San Bernardino is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.
ESTES PARK, Colo. Father and daughter, Bill Harvey and Jennifer Harvey-Betz, lean on each other to get through the hurt and damage the Alexander Mountain Fire has caused.
The beauty of Drake brought Harvey to the area, and for the past three decades, he has lived through his fair share of unknowns with multiple fires and a flood. However, the Alexander Mountain Fire has left him with grief and sorrow.
Harvey’s neighbors, who stayed behind, informed him his house was still there but his woodshop was gone. Inside were his creations, along with all of his tools which he has had for decades.
“Probably 20 years. Every time I sell a table or something, I go buy another tool,” Harvey said.
His passion for woodworking started during his high school years. Now at 72 years old, he has not stopped creating for others. Harvey turned the barn on the property into his woodshop so he could have a space to create.
“I make anything from coffee tables, end tables, plant stands, bookshelves, cutting boards, boxes, just about anything I can think of, ” said Harvey.
While Harvey has worked away on many creations and perfected his woodworking skills, he has gifted several items to his daughter, including a TV stand, end tables and boxes for keepsakes.
“There are things that I will keep for my whole life. It will be what I remember him by one day, so they’re very special to me,” said Harvey-Betz.
Some residents were able to get back home on Monday to see the damage from the Alexander Mountain Fire, but Harvey did not have access yet to his property. Harvey’s daughter reflected on the challenging week and the grief she has for her father and his neighbors.
“It’s the shock of the whole thing, knowing that a lot of our neighbors lost everything,” Harevy-Betz said. “I grew up on that mountain, and we’re all family friends. We’re all a very tight-knit community. We’re a very strong community, and we are storm out and strong, and we will help each other build back after this, as we always do. And that’s it breaks my heart for everybody, no matter how big or small the loss was.”
“My dad is a Vietnam-era veteran who does have Agent Orange,” Harvey-Betz, said. “He’s been battling multiple cancers for a few years and going through cancer treatment, so this is kind of a hit for him. You know, those were very important things for him to keep himself occupied and busy and things to pass on at some point. We could use all the help we can get”
PORTLAND, Ore. – More than 1. 3 million acres are burning in the Pacific Northwest, where there are 46 large, uncontained fires. Oregon U.S. Senator Ron Wyden asked firefighting experts, “We’re still a long way from the end of the fire season. It used to be we were able to contain fires because there were smaller, fires. You didn’t have so many fires simultaneously. What I’m worried about now is we’re gonna have fires all over the West simultaneously as we go into August. And I’m curious what your thoughts are in terms of how serious that is.”
Chief Travis Modema with the Oregon Department of State Fire Marshal answered, “Your intuition and your gut is spot on. A hundred percent, I think. This is 31 years all in Oregon in wildfire for myself. And we haven’t seen a fire season like this to date. That started this early and is going to have the longevity off this 2024 wildfire season.
He says the challenges and the conditions are not going to get better, and that means firefighters and the country have to be prepared even before fire season starts.
Shane DeForest, the Vale District Manager for the Bureau of Land Management, says it’s the prime time for wildfires.
“For us out here in southeastern Oregon most intense portion of our season is just beginning. The month of August is always the time where we get the most number of fires, where we burn the most acres. And nationally, it’s also the same time where a lot of fires are going on all over the place.”
But this year, he says, it’s much more severe.
“Our 10 year average, we have quadrupled the number of acres burned in our BLM district. There’s going to be some more fires, potentially some additional megafire type situations.”
CHICO, Calif. — Fire crews battling California’s largest wildfire this year have corralled a third of the blaze aided in part by cooler weather, but a return of triple-digit temperatures could allow it to grow, fire officials said Sunday.
Cooler temperatures and increased humidity gave firefighters “a great opportunity to make some good advances” on the fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Chris Vestal, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Park Fire has scorched 627 square miles (1,623 square kilometers) since igniting July 24 when authorities said a man pushed a burning car into a gully in Chico and then fled. The blaze was 30% contained as of Sunday.
The massive fire has scorched an area bigger than the city of Los Angeles, which covers about 503 square miles (1,302 square kilometers). It continues to burn through rugged, inaccessible, and steep terrain with dense vegetation.
The fire’s push northward has brought it toward the rugged lava rock landscape surrounding Lassen Volcanic National Park, which has been closed because of the threat. The inhospitable terrain remains one of the biggest challenges for firefighters.
“The challenge with that is we can’t use our heavy machinery like bulldozers to go through and cut a line right through it,” Vestal said.
“On top of that, we have to put human beings, our hand crews, in to remove those fuels and some of that terrain is not really the greatest for people that are hiking so it takes a long time and extremely hard work,” he added.
The fire has destroyed at least 572 structures and damaged 52 others. At least 2,700 people in Butte and Tehama Counties remain under evacuation orders, Veal said.
After days of smoky skies, clear skies Sunday allowed firefighters to deploy helicopters and other aircraft to aid in the fight against the blaze as temperatures reached above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius).
“The fire is in a good place from the weather conditions we had the last couple of days but we still have to worry about the weather that we have and the conditions that are going to be present now for about the next five or six days,” Veal said.
The fire in Northern California is one of 85 large blazes burning across the West.
In Colorado, firefighters were making progress Sunday against three major fires burning near heavily populated areas north and south of Denver. Many residents evacuated by the fires have been allowed to go back home.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a blaze threatening hundreds of homes near the Colorado city of Littleton as arson.
About 50 structures were damaged or destroyed, about half of them homes, by a fire near Loveland. And one person was found dead in a home burned by a fire west of the town of Lyons.
Scientists say extreme wildfires are becoming more common and destructive in the U.S. West and other parts of the world as climate change warms the planet and droughts become more severe.
In Canada, a 24-year-old firefighter battling a blaze in Jasper National Park was killed Saturday by a falling tree, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
The firefighter from Calgary, whose name was not released, was battling a fire north of Jasper, a town in Alberta Province that was half destroyed last month by a fast-moving fire.
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Josephine Fraser worried her young family’s next home would be a tent.
Fraser and her partner, their two sons and their dog had moved nine times in as many months, from one hotel room to another, since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century razed her hometown of Lahaina, on Maui. They would sometimes get just 24 hours to relocate, with no immediate word where they were headed.
Now, the Red Cross was warning that the hotel shelter program would soon end and Fraser was having trouble explaining to her 3-year-old why they couldn’t just go home.
“He just kept asking, ‘Why?’” she said. “It really broke me.”
Like Fraser, thousands on Maui have faced a year of anxious uncertainty since the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire brought apocalyptic scenes of destruction to Lahaina, the historic former capital of the Hawaiian kingdom, forcing some survivors to flee into the ocean. The fire killed at least 102 people and displaced 12,000.
Government and nonprofit groups have offered temporary solutions for displaced residents, including providing hotel rooms, leasing apartments, assembling prefabricated homes and paying people to take in loved ones.
Disaster housing experts say the effort, expected to cost more than $500 million over two years, has been unprecedented in its cooperation among federal, state, county and philanthropic organizations toward keeping the community together.
But on a tourism-dependent island where affordable homes were in short supply even before the fire, a housing market squeezed by vacation rentals is undermining attempts to find long-term shelter for survivors even a year later.
Just about all of the 8,000 survivors put up in hotels have been moved into other accommodations, but many of those are pricey condos once rented to visitors, and they aren’t near residents’ jobs or their children’s schools.
Work to finish developments of temporary homes has been slowed by the difficulty of clearing toxic debris, obtaining materials from thousands of miles away, blasting and grading volcanic rock and installing water, sewer and electricity lines.
Members of at least 1,500 households have already left for other islands or states, some estimates say. Locals fear more will depart if they can’t find stable, affordable, convenient housing.
That’s particularly painful for Hawaii, where leaders have long worried the islands are losing their culture as housing costs fuel an exodus of Native Hawaiian and other local-born residents.
“You start to change the fabric of Hawaii,” said Kuhio Lewis, chief executive of the nonprofit Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, which is involved in housing survivors. “That’s what’s at stake, is the future of who Hawaii is.”
Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press in an interview that the state is building transitional and long-term housing, changing laws to convert 7,000 vacation rentals to long-term rentals and swiftly settling lawsuits by fire survivors so plaintiffs can get the money they need to start rebuilding.
“Will some people leave? Of course,” Green said. “But most will stay, and they’ll really be able to stay if they get their settlements and can invest in their new houses.”
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is building 16 modular units in Lahaina and 50 in Kahului, about an hour away, which kept Fraser and her family from winding up in a tent. In May, they moved into the first unit completed in Kahului, a small, white structure with two bedrooms and one bathroom.
The neighborhood remains a dusty construction site. The location is not convenient for her job as a manager at a hotel restaurant in Lahaina, but Fraser, 22, is grateful. She can cook for her kids and they can play outside.
“Everyone’s choice is to move out of Lahaina, to move off-island, to move to the mainland, and that’s not something that we want to do,” she said. “Lahaina is our home.”
Lahaina’s plight highlights an important question as human-caused climate change increases the severity and frequency of natural disasters: How far should governments go to try to keep communities together after such calamities?
Shannon Van Zandt, with the Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University, said it’s a worthy goal. Being a part of a community that supports its members is important not only to their livelihoods but their mental health, she said.
Jennifer Gray Thompson, the CEO of nonprofit fire-recovery initiative After The Fire, said she has worked in 18 counties that have suffered massive wildfires since 2017, when she herself lived through blazes that ripped through Northern California’s wine country.
Thompson has never before seen the Federal Emergency Management Agency invest so heavily in keeping a community together, she said.
“Maui is the first one I’ve ever seen the federal government fully listen to the community … and actually really try to do what they were asking, which was to keep people on the island,” she said.
FEMA has focused on providing rentals for survivors who did not have insurance coverage for fire losses. The agency is directly leasing homes for more than 1,200 households and giving subsidies to 500 others to use on their own. Many of the rentals are in Kihei, 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Lahaina.
Still, the approach has proved tricky partly because vacation rentals and timeshares are one-quarter of the housing supply.
In October, FEMA raised its rates by 75% to entice landlords to rent to locals. The agency is now paying $3,000 per month for a one-bedroom and more than $5,100 for a three-bedroom. People seeking housing on their own say that has inflated the rental market more.
Frustration over the prevalence of vacation rentals after the fire prompted Maui’s mayor to propose eliminating them in areas zoned for apartments. The measure is still under consideration.
FEMA also is constructing 169 modular homes next to a similar site being built in Lahaina by the state and the Hawaii Community Foundation. Residents begin moving into FEMA’s development in October. The $115 million project next to it will provide 450 homes for people who aren’t eligible for FEMA; the first families arrive in the coming weeks. Residents begin moving into FEMA’s development in October.
Bob Fenton, FEMA’s regional administrator, told the AP the agency is even paying for survivors to fly elsewhere to live temporarily and to return when housing is ready.
“Our goal is the community’s goal,” Fenton said. “We’ve tried to do everything we can to support that.”
Lucy Reardon lost the home her grandfather passed down to her and her brother. When July came, she was still living in a hotel with her partner and two children. She twice declined offers from FEMA to move off the island temporarily and provide her a car, she said, because her grandfather would have wanted her to stay.
Finally, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement moved her and her family into a two-bedroom apartment in West Maui, in the same building as her brother and his family.
“To get that phone call was like somebody reaching out with light,” Reardon said. Her daughter will be able to start kindergarten with her cousins at the school she would have attended before the fire.
The council also is paying people who take in displaced loved ones, providing $500 a month per guest. That has been helpful for Tamara Akiona, who bought a small condo in central Maui with her husband after she lost the multigenerational home where she lived with 10 family members in Lahaina. The money has covered food and other costs since they took in her uncle, Ron Sambrano.
“Without my family, I’d probably be living on the beach or under a bridge or something,” Sambrano said.
With stable housing, Fraser’s family can begin finding a routine once again. She works during the day while her partner watches their sons. She returns to do dinner and baths before he leaves for his night shift as a restaurant server.
“It’s awesome to have a roof, somewhere to call home,” Fraser said. “At least for now, until we go back into Lahaina.”
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McAvoy reported from Honolulu. Freelance journalist Mengshin Lin shot drone video accompanying this story.
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