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74370838 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Oregon%20wildfires | 2023 Oregon wildfires | This article is a summary of the 2023 Oregon wildfire season, comprising the series of significant wildfires that have burned in the U.S. state of Oregon since the beginning of the calendar year. Fire season officially began in all areas of the state by July 1, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). , the state had recorded 1,731 fires, which had burned a total of .
Outlook
Fire season in the Pacific Northwest often lasts from May until October. A wet spring and large snowpack in the state may be responsible for delaying fire season at higher elevations for several weeks, but climatologists and other researchers note that abnormally hot and dry conditions may develop in late summer and fall as a result of the transition to El Niño conditions.
The National Interagency Coordination Center, in its seasonal fire assessment and outlook released in July, forecast above-normal significant fire potential in the Pacific Northwest through September. The August outlook continued this forecast, predicting that "Significant fire potential will be above average for the entire geographic area in August and September. In October, elevated risk of significant fires will shift west of the Cascades due to the likelihood of dry easterly winds in autumn. By November, significant fire risk will decrease back to normal (i.e., low) for the entire geographic area as cooler and wetter weather arrives."
All Oregon Department of Forestry districts declared the beginning of fire season by July 1. The Northwest Coordination Center upgraded the region's preparedness level (referring to the availability of firefighting resources) from PL 1 to PL 2 on July 3, PL 3 on July 23, PL 4 on August 12, and PL5—the highest level—on August 19.
Impacts
Highway closures and wildfire smoke affected businesses in the vicinity of the Smith River Complex fire, burning in northern California and southern Oregon.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of Oregon wildfires in 2023 that have burned more than , have resulted in casualties or significant damage to structures, or have otherwise been notable. Acreage and containment figures may not be up to date.
See also
2023 California wildfires
2023 Washington wildfires
References
External links
InciWeb - Incident Information System
Oregon Department of Forestry - Wildfire News
Oregon State Fire Marshal - Incident Information Blog
Central Oregon Fire Information
Oregon Smoke Information
2023 in Oregon
2023 meteorology
2023 wildfires in the United States
Wildfires in Oregon by year |
74381937 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Greece%20wildfires | 2023 Greece wildfires | Since 17 July 2023, multiple wildfires have started in Greece. They have resulted in at least 28 deaths and injured 75 people, with over 80 wildfires being recorded. Seventy-nine people were arrested for arson.
High temperatures reached , with highs anticipated to reach in Rhodes. Forecasters were suggesting that the heatwave engulfing Greece was set to be the longest in its history, lasting up to 16–17 days, surpassing the 1987 heatwave. It was also expected to be the hottest July recorded in more than 50 years.
Following a series of heatwaves and wildfires taking place over Europe, wildfires in Greece started on 17 July 2023. The Greek government established a Crisis Management Unit to respond to the situation. A wildfire which started on the Greek island of Rhodes on 18 July led to the evacuation of four locations, including two seaside resorts. Approximately 2,000 people, including tourists, were safely evacuated by sea, accounting for less than 10% of the island's tourist accommodations, according to the fire department spokesman. On 22 August, eighteen bodies were found in a forested area of northern Greece; initial reports suggested those who died may have been migrants. Additionally, as days passed with more land being burned and property being destroyed more and more, civilians started complaining about the lack of strength in Greece's firefighting capabilities—something that they attribute to government mismanagement.
Cause
According to a senior climate crisis official, 667 fires were caused by "human hand", blaming either negligence or arson. 79 arrests were made as of late August.
By 25 August, officials had arrested 163 people on fire-related charges since the start of the fire prevention season, including 118 for negligence and 24 for deliberate arson, and the police had made a further 18 arrests according to government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.
Intense winds exacerbated Greece's wildfires, sparking over 50 new blazes amid hot, dry weather; casualties include two deaths and two injured firefighters on August 21, 2023.
Impact by area
Attica
Three major wildfires broke out in the area of Attica on 17 July, in Kalyvia, Loutraki, and Dervenochoria. Greek authorities directed villagers to evacuate their homes in southern Athens. On 20 July, wildfires reignited in Athens as a result of wind, which forced an evacuation effort in the city. On August 22, another major wildfire broke out near Fyli, in a monastery. The 25km/h strong winds made it very difficult to put out and resulted in the area being evacuated. The fire progressed during the night and on August 23 it reached the Parnitha mountain. On August 24th the fire was put out. The fire destroyed a few homes.
Corfu
On 23 July, mass evacuations were ordered in Corfu following major wildfire breakouts on the island.
People in Rou, Katavolo, Kentroma, Tritsi, Kokokila, Sarakiniatika, Plagia, Kalami, Vlachatika, and Kavalerena were told to evacuate and move to Ipsos, whilst people in Viglatouri and Nisaki were advised to evacuate to Barbati.
Evia
In Karystos, the flames reached a height of and the mayor asked for increased use of aerial vehicles in extinguishing operations. A man was reported to have died from heat stroke as a result of the wildfires on the island of Evia. On 25 July 2023, a Canadair CL-215 crashed in Karystos, killing its two pilots, with a similar incident that happened almost 15 years to the day in the same area with the same casualties. Later the same day, a 41-year-old shepherd was found charred in an inaccessible area outside the village of Platanistos in Karystos.
Magnesia
Two major wildfires broke out in the area of Magnesia on 26 July, in Almyros and near Velestino. The fires managed to reach Nea Anchialos Air Base and the Industrial Zone of Volos. Many F-16s were ordered to move from Nea Anchialos Air Base to Larissa Air Base for safety reasons.
The wildfire reached an ammunition warehouse and several explosions occurred, triggering the evacuation of the Nea Anchialos town.
Rhodes
The island of Rhodes suffered multiple wildfires, which resulted in over an estimated 19,000 people being evacuated by land and sea. Emergency alerts were sent to residents on the island to warn them of the wildfires and to evacuate.
The fire department in Rhodes stated the fires there prompted the "largest evacuation operation" ever on the island, with the fire department using 10 firefighting airplanes, eight firefighting helicopters, over 260 firefighters, 49 fire trucks and hundreds of volunteers, among others, to tackle the blaze on the island.
Authorities declared a state of emergency on 20 July 2023 in three municipalities of Rhodes, including Lindos, which is home to many tourist villages.
On 21 July, the Civil Protection ordered the evacuation of the village of Laerma, which is about 10 km from the coastal tourist resorts.
On 23 July 2023, it was announced that 1,200 extra people would be evacuated from the villages of Pefki, Lindos, and Kalathos. Flights to Rhodes from British package holiday company Jet2.com were cancelled until 30 July 2023 and from TUI until 26 July 2023.
On 2 August, the Ministry of Tourism lifted the state of emergency on Rhodes and offered complimentary travel accommodations to tourists who were evacuated from the island in the previous month.
Alexandroupolis
A major fire started near the city of Alexandroupolis in eastern Western Thrace on August 21. The fire was stated to be "the largest recorded in the EU" up to this time by EU officials, with around 73.000 hectares (730 square kilometers) burnt. Most of the burnt area is concentrated in the Dadia Forest. Several migrants died when they got trapped by the flames near the Dadia Forest. As of the 28th of August the vast majority of the Dadia forest as well as the surrounding pine forests have been destroyed with more than 80,000 hectares (198,000 acres) scorched. On the island of Samothraki a power outage occurred because of the Alexandroupolis fire. The general hospital of Alexandroupolis had to evacuate its patients. The fire had almost reached the hospital.
Kavala
A major fire is also raging near the city of Kavala.
Parnitha
There is also a major forest fire near the infamous forest of Parnitha close to Athens. Several homes have been burnt to the ground. Because of the fire most of Athens is experiencing heavy smog. In combination with other major fires in Greece most of Greece is experiencing some form of smog.
International assistance
The European Union announced that more than 450 firefighters and seven airplanes would be deployed to help the situation in Greece, with 81 firefighters, 26 vehicles, and three planes specifically helping the situation in Rhodes.
On 23 July, in response to the wildfires in Rhodes, the UK Government announced that they would deploy a Rapid Deployment Team consisting of responders to support British nationals on the island, being based at Rhodes International Airport.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria deployed 70 firefighters with 14 vehicles to assist Greece.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic deployed 79 personnel (firefighters and other), 33 vehicles and a helicopter with 6 personnel.
Croatia
Croatia deployed a firefighting plane as part of EU assistance.
Egypt
Three firefighting helicopters were deployed from Egypt.
France
Two firefighting planes were sent by France.
Israel
Israel sent two firefighting planes to assist in fighting the fire.
Italy
Italy sent two firefighting planes as reinforcements.
Jordan
Jordan sent four firefighting helicopters to Greece.
Malta
Malta sent 20 firefighters to Greece. This was the first time that Malta had sent firefighters abroad.
Poland
Poland deployed 149 firefighters, along with 49 firefighting vehicles.
Romania
Romania sent 130 firefighters, with 25 firefighting vehicles, deployed alongside their Greek counterparts.
Serbia
Serbia sent 38 firefighters, along with 14 vehicles.
Slovakia
31 firefighters, along with 15 firefighting vehicles, were deployed from Slovakia.
Turkey
Two firefighting planes and one helicopter were sent by Turkey at the request of the President.
Reactions
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanked European civil protection agencies for their assistance in helping the situation.
Gallery
See also
List of wildfires
2007 Greek forest fires
2009 Greek forest fires
2009 Mediterranean wildfires
2012 Chios Forest Fire
2018 Attica wildfires
2021 Greece wildfires
2021 Turkish wildfires
2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires
2023 Canadian wildfires
2023 Hawaii wildfires
References
External links
2023 wildfires
Wildfires
2023 fires in Europe
2020s in Athens
Wildfires
Wildfires
Wildfires
2023 wildfires
2023
History of Achaea
History of Corinthia
History of Corfu
History of Euboea
History of Rhodes
History of Phthiotis
History of Western Thrace
Modern history of Thessaly
Saronikos, Attica
East Attica
Evros (regional unit) |
74445327 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20North%20Africa%20wildfires | 2023 North Africa wildfires | The North Africa wildfires started on 24 July 2023 primarily in Algeria with at least 97 blazes, killing at least 34 (with 10 soldiers), injuring 26, mobilising 7,500 firefighters and 350 firetrucks with aerial support, forcing thousands of evacuations primarily in El Taref Province with blazes also reported in Tunisia and Morocco.
See also
List of wildfires
2009 Mediterranean wildfires
2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires
Other 2023 disasters in the Maghreb
2023 Marrakesh–Safi earthquake
Storm Daniel
References
Wildfires
Wildfires
Wildfires
2023 fires in Africa
2023 wildfires
Fires in Algeria
History of Algeria
History of Morocco
History of Tunisia
Wildfires in Africa
Events in North Africa |
74466942 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021%20Italy%20wildfires | 2021 Italy wildfires | Multiple wildfires broke out across Italy in the summer of 2021. The first wildfires were reported in Sardinia on 24 July, which would go on to become one of the worst affected regions along with Calabria, where five people died, and Sicily, which recorded one further fatality. Wildfires in Lazio on 17 August damaged the estate of the presidential summer residence.
By late August, additional minor wildfires had spread to the regions of Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, Liguria and Tuscany. Heavy rainfall in September extinguished the last of the wildfires. The majority of the wildfires were the result of organised arson, with criminal investigations into the fires ongoing.
Timeline by region
Abruzzo
Multiple wildfires broke out in Abruzzo, mainly in city of Pescara, in mid-August.
Basilicata
Multiple wildfires broke out in Basilicata by mid-August.
Calabria
On 10 August, the prefecture of Reggio Calabria requested and obtained the intervention of the Italian Army to contribute to the activities in progress to extinguish the fires that broke out in different areas of the province. On 11 August, there are many arsons on the Aspromonte and the sanctuary of the Madonna di Polsi, frazione of San Luca (Reggio Calabria), is almost surrounded by fires. On 12 August, the wildfires are devastating the Province of Reggio Calabria, the Province of Catanzaro and the Province of Cosenza. The most serious situation among the Comuni di San Luca, Cardeto, Roghudi, Roccaforte del Greco, Mammola, Gioiosa Ionica, Grotteria, San Giovanni di Gerace, Caulonia and Cittanova. Some villages have been evacuated and several rural homes have been destroyed by the flames. The president of the Region, Antonino Spirlì spoked of 59 fires still active and 70 rescue teams active in the area. On 13 August, fire extinguishing and containment operations continue in Aspromonte.
In total, five people died during the wildfires in Calabria.
Campania
Multiple wildfires had broken out in Campania by mid-August.
Lazio
On 17 August at around 0600 local time, unknown arsonists threw ignited triggers beyond the boundary wall on Via Pratica di Mare of the presidential estate of Castelporziano, the summer residence of the President of the Italian Republic. Some trees and a small portion of Mediterranean plants and shrubs immediately caught fire. Some citizens have alerted the Vigili del Fuoco. The teams of the Carabinieri and Vigili del Fuoco in force in the presidential estate arrived on the site. The damage was fortunately limited to about 20 square meters of burnt land.
Liguria
Wildfires were reported across Liguria starting in mid-August.
A wildfire broke out on the morning of 17 August on the heights of Voltri, in the woods and among the Mediterranean trees. Some teams of the Genoa fire brigade went to the place. The thick and acrid smoke has risen from the woods above the hills of the Genoese west and is visible throughout the quartiere.
On 16 September, heavy rains fall on the region and definitely extinguish all fires. The risk of starting new fires is now very low due to the lowering of temperatures and the humid soil due to heavy rains.
Sardinia
Starting on 24 July, the Montiferru area, in Oristano province, was hit by a wildfire, which broke out between Bonarcado and Santu Lussurgiu, forcing the inhabitants of the towns of Cuglieri and Scano di Montiferro to flee for safety.
It will take at least 15 years to rebuild the woods and the Mediterranean trees destroyed by the flames that have reached pastures, olive trees, sheds, barns with fodder stocks and agricultural vehicles, but also killed animals and represent a calamity costing incalculable damage to agriculture in over 20 thousand hectares burned.
The millennial olive tree of Sa Tanca Manna, symbol of Cuglieri and an example of botanical archeology, was apparently destroyed by flames.
However, later reports indicated that the millennial olive tree of Sa Tanca Manna may be able to survive the wildfire.
The high temperatures and the wind fueled the fire that spread quickly, first surrounding Santu Lussurgiu and then moving to Cuglieri. The small town was besieged by flames all night, displacing 200 people. The 155 inhabitants of Sennariolo, which is located a few kilometers nearby, were also displaced. At dawn the launches of water by Canadair and helicopters firefighting from the sky resumed, but after a slight respite, with the passing of the hours and with the increase in temperatures and the strength of the wind, the flames regained strength, burning everything. The fire front moved to Porto Alabe, frazione of Tresnuraghes.
The flames also reached Scano di Montiferro, where some homes were evacuated and 400 people displaced, including guests of an assistance facility for the elderly and Borore in the Province of Nuoro with 30 other evacuated families.
To extinguish the wildfires and secure the villagers, 7,500 men were employed including Sardinian Forestry Corps, Vigili del fuoco, Protezione Civile, volunteers, but also the Italian Red Cross, Carabinieri and Polizia di Stato, 7 Italian Canadair firefighting in flight, plus 2 Canadair arrived from France and 11 helicopters from the regional fleet, including the Super Puma, a Vigili del fuoco helicopter and an Italian Army helicopter.
Almost 27 years have passed since the last wildfire in Montiferru was in August 1994.
On 10 August, wildfires on the border with the territories of Birori and Bortigali destroyed an area of 180 hectares. On 11 August, new wildfires reactivated in the province of Nuoro and in the Province of Ogliastra. A large front of fire has opened in Borore, in the Marghine. The Sardinian Forestry Corps, volunteers and Protezione Civile, 5 helicopters and 1 Canadair firefighting in flight were present to extinguish the wildfires. On 16 August, there were further wildfires in Gallura.
Sicily
On 12 August in Provincia di Palermo arsons attack broke out in the Madonie, in the Polizzi Generosa area, where 150 people were evacuated. Fires also in Petralia Soprana and near the Madonuzza junction, but also in Geraci Siculo and Gangi. While in the Province of Catania, at Linguaglossa, close to the Etna park, a vast wooded area was devoured by flames, which destroyed vineyards and farmhouses.
Tuscany
Multiple wildfires broke out in Tuscany in August.
International assistance
The following countries offered assistance:
– 8 Canadair CL-415 firefighting aircraft (3 in Calabria, 2 in Sardinia, 3 in Sicily)
Reactions
The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella visited the Italian Air Force base, in Alghero, Sardinia. Subsequently, on board a helicopter, he flew over the areas of Oristano affected by the very serious arsons at the end of July on the island.
Regarding the subsequent fires in Lazio which affected the presidential residence, Mattarella reiterated his condemnation for criminal acts that impacted the civil community and thanked the citizens who reported the fire and the rescue teams of the firefighters: thanks to their timely intervention they avoided very serious consequences.
The Italian prime minister Mario Draghi, in a telephone conversation with the mayor of Reggio Calabria, Giuseppe Falcomatà, has assured full support to community and to the whole of Calabria for the emergency of the fires of arson origin which, with the high temperatures, have given rise to large forest fires. highly destructives. He confirmed that the Italian government will activate a program of economic and financial support for people and businesses damaged by arson together with an extraordinary plan to reforest and secure the territory.
Aftermath
Causes
On 10 August, investigations are underway by the Sardinian Forestry Corps, Carabinieri and Polizia di Stato to ascertain those responsible for the arson fires in that region. Investigations were launched on 11 August in Abruzzo, Calabria and Sicily; on 16 August in Basilicata, Campania, Liguria and Tuscany; and on 17 August in Lazio.
Consequences
Calabria declared the state of emergency for the wildfire. At the proposal of President Antonino Spirlì, the regional council approved the request to the Italian government in relation to the calamitous events resulting from the spread of forest fires over a vast territory. The resolution clarifies that the damages will be quantified following a specific survey in the municipalities concerned.
Financial assistance
No non-repayable funds will be disbursed, but economic support for projects for the forest protection and enhancement of the territory.
References
2021 fires in Europe
Wildfires
2021 wildfires
July 2021 events in Europe
July 2021 events in Italy
August 2021 events in Europe
August 2021 events in Italy
Fires in Italy
Natural disasters in Italy |
74484293 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Arizona%20wildfires | 2023 Arizona wildfires | The 2023 Arizona wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Arizona.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
See also
2023 Colorado wildfires
2023 California wildfires
2023 Nevada wildfires
2023 New Mexico wildfires
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
Arizona, 2023
Wildfires in Arizona |
74485718 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Idaho%20wildfires | 2023 Idaho wildfires | The 2023 Idaho wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Idaho.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
See also
2023 Montana wildfires
2023 Oregon wildfires
2023 Washington wildfires
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
Idaho, 2023
Wildfires in Idaho |
74487961 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Montana%20wildfires | 2023 Montana wildfires | The 2023 Montana wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Montana.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
See also
2023 Idaho wildfires
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
Montana, 2023
Wildfires in Montana |
74493550 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Nevada%20wildfires | 2023 Nevada wildfires | The 2023 Nevada wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Nevada.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
See also
2023 Arizona wildfires
2023 California wildfires
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
Nevada, 2023
Wildfires in Nevada |
74493594 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Florida%20wildfires | 2023 Florida wildfires | The 2023 Florida wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Florida.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
Florida, 2023
Fires in Florida |
74493607 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20North%20Carolina%20wildfires | 2023 North Carolina wildfires | The 2023 North Carolina wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of North Carolina.
List of wildfires
The following is a list of fires that burned more than , or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
References
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
North Carolina, 2023 |
74557632 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Hawaii%20wildfires | 2023 Hawaii wildfires | The 2023 Hawaii wildfires were a series of wildfires that broke out in the U.S. state of Hawaii in August 2023, predominantly on the island of Maui. The wind-driven fires prompted evacuations, caused widespread damage, killing at least 99 people and leaving six persons missing in the town of Lahaina on Maui's northwest coast. The proliferation of the wildfires was attributed to dry, gusty conditions created by a strong high-pressure area north of Hawaii and Hurricane Dora to the south.
An emergency declaration was signed on August 8, authorizing several actions, including activation of the Hawaii National Guard, appropriate actions by the director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of Emergency Management, and the expenditure of state general revenue funds for relief of conditions created by the fires. By August 9, the state government of Hawaii issued a state of emergency for the entirety of the state. On August 10, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a federal major disaster declaration.
For the Lahaina fire alone, the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated that over 2,200 buildings had been destroyed, overwhelmingly residential and including many historic landmarks in Lahaina. The damage caused by the fire has been estimated at nearly $6 billion. In September 2023, the United States Department of Commerce published the official damage total of the wildfires as $5.5 billion (2023 USD).
Background
Wildfire risk
The typical area burned by wildfires in Hawaii has increased in recent decades, almost quadrupling. Experts have blamed the increase on the spread of nonnative vegetation and hotter, drier weather due to climate change.
During the 2010s and early 2020s, Clay Trauernicht, a botanist and fire scientist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, and several other experts warned that the decline of agriculture in Hawaii meant that large areas of formerly productive land had been left unmanaged; nonnative invasive species like guinea grass were spreading rapidly and increasing the risk of large wildfires. The state government failed to provide incentives or impose mandates to keep land clear of grass. The state government also did not require all structure owners to maintain defensible space, a standard rule in fire-prone states like California. The shrinking of the agricultural workforce reduced overall firefighting capacity; those workers had traditionally suppressed fires on the land they cared for, and were so effective that sometimes the counties called them for help. In 2022, Trauernicht suggested that Hawaii follow Europe's example by subsidizing agriculture as a public good as a form of fire risk reduction. In 2023, UH Manoa biogeography professor Camilo Mora estimated the cost of land restoration to mitigate wildfire risk at about $1 billion. Despite these calls to action, the Hawaii State Legislature had been unable to make much progress; a 2022 bill to spend just $1.5 million on additional fire risk reduction measures died in a legislative committee.
Around the time the fires occurred, twenty percent of the county of Maui was experiencing moderate drought (level 1 of 4), and sixteen percent of the county was under severe drought conditions (level 2 of 4). A decrease in rainfall consistent with the predicted impacts of climate change had also been recorded in the Hawaiian Islands, according to the U.S. National Climate Assessment. In the decades leading up to the fire, overdevelopment practices led to further water management challenges that reduced the availability of water for firefighting and exacerbated drought conditions.
In June 2014, the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, a nonprofit organization, prepared a Western Maui Community Wildfire Protection Plan which warned that most of the Lahaina area was at extremely high risk for burning.
In Maui County's 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, the county identified Lahaina, the most heavily impacted community in the August fires, as lying within a high risk zone for wildfire.
In its monthly seasonal outlook on August 1, 2023, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) forecast "above normal" potential for significant wildland fires for Hawaii in August, concentrated on the islands' leeward sides. In addition to noting plentiful vegetation growth from the previous wet season and the expanding drought, the NIFC mentioned that "tropical cyclones can also bring windy and dry conditions depending on how they approach the island chain and can exacerbate fire growth potential".
The vulnerability of the islands to deadly wildfires was gravely underestimated in long term assessments. A year prior, the State of Hawaii Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Report had detailed wildfire risks as one of the lowest threats for the state. A 2021 Maui County assessment acknowledged the spike of wildfires in the state, but described funds as "inadequate" and heavily criticized the county fire department's strategic plan, claiming it said "nothing about what can and should be done to prevent fires."
Weather factors
In early August 2023, a high-pressure system remained north of the Hawaiian Islands. This formed strong surface pressure north of the islands, and also sustained stabilization across the region, creating warm and sunny conditions. Concurrently, Hurricane Dora began to intensify to Category 4 strength, which may have helped to create a large pressure difference between the high-pressure area and the low-pressure cyclone. This pressure difference would have aided in already significant trade winds moving southwest, and formed strong gradient winds over the islands. (A similar phenomenon occurred during the October 2017 Portugal wildfires during the passage of Hurricane Ophelia.) The exact significance of Hurricane Dora and how it impacted the fires themselves remains somewhat unclear. Meteorologists noted that the storm's center remained more than from the islands and that it remained relatively small in size; however it also remained "remarkably potent for a long time", logging more hours as a Category 4 hurricane than any other storm in the Pacific for over 50 years. Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center, argued that Hurricane Dora played only a minor role in "enhancing low-level flow over Maui at fire initiation time."
By August 6, the National Weather Service identified a region of very dry air arriving from the East Pacific, greatly inhibiting the potential for rainfall. A prominent descending capping inversion forced even more stabilization of the atmosphere, which led to enhanced wind gusts and very dry conditions between August 7 and 8. As the day progressed, deep layer ridging combined with the existing pressure gradient created very strong wind gusts and caused humidity levels to be well below normal. The aforementioned cap was expected to only strengthen acceleration of wind due to terrain features near the islands.
List of wildfires
Timeline
During the first few days of August, a multitude of minor brush fires affected the Hawaiian Islands. Multiple brush fires burned on the island of Oʻahu, stretching fire department resources, but were quickly contained by August 4. The island's south and west sides remained abnormally dry or in drought because of the fire, as well as weather conditions.
At 5:00 a.m. HST (UTC 15:00) on August 7, the National Weather Service's office in Honolulu issued a red flag warning for the leeward portions of all the islands until the morning of August 9, highlighting that "very dry fuels combined with strong and gusty easterly winds and low humidities will produce critical fire weather conditions through Tuesday night". East winds of with gusts over were forecast. In Maui County, officials reported gusts up to in the Upcountry Maui area.
Maui
On August 4, 2023, at 11:01am HST (UTC 21:01), the first of many small fires ignited on Maui. A 30-acre brush fire was reported adjacent to the Kahului Airport in a field. By 9:29 p.m. HST (UTC 07:29), the fire was reported 90% contained, but many flights out of the airport were delayed to August 11.
On August 8, 2023, intense winds knocked down numerous utility poles. By 4:55 p.m. HST (UTC 02:55), "about 30 downed poles" had been reported on Maui, resulting in "at least 15 separate outages impacting more than 12,400 customers". By that time, there had been no power in some parts of West Maui since 4:50 a.m. HST (UTC 14:50). Downed power lines are being investigated as a factor in igniting the fires, having been captured on video.
Kula
The first significant fire of the event was reported at 12:22 a.m. HST (UTC 10:30) on August 8 near Olinda Road in the community of Kula, in Upcountry Maui. Evacuations of nearby residents were announced beginning at 3:43 a.m. (UTC 13:43). As of August 9, the fire had burned approximately . Approximately 544 structures were exposed, 96% of which were residential, and 16 burned. Concurrent electrical grid sensor data and security camera footage reported by The Washington Post indicate that a downed power line, hit by a tree, may have caused this fire.
Lahaina
The most significant fire of the complex of events began from a brush fire ignited in West Maui near the town of Lahaina on the morning of August 8. During the early morning hours of August 8, significant straight-line winds began to impact the town of Lahaina. Peak wind gusts that exceeded began to cause minor damage to homes and buildings in Lahaina, and subsequently, a power pole was snapped along Lahainaluna Road, across the street from the Lahaina Intermediate School near the northeast side of town.
A brush fire was reported at 6:37 a.m. HST (UTC 16:37) as the downed power line sparked flames to dry grass near the road. Evacuations were ordered minutes later in the areas around Lahaina Intermediate School. Maui County Fire Department immediately responded, and by 9:00 a.m HST (UTC 19:00), the fire was announced fully contained. Wind gusts continued to batter the town however, and by 3:30 p.m. HST (UTC 01:30), the fire had flared up again, and forced the closure of Lahaina Bypass (Route 3000), with more evacuations nearby following. Residents on the west side of town received instructions to shelter in place.
The wildfire rapidly grew in both size and intensity. Wind gusts pushed the flames through the northeastern region of the community, where dense neighborhoods were. Hundreds of homes burned in a matter of minutes, and residents identifying the danger attempted to flee in vehicles while surrounded by flames. As time progressed, the fire moved southwest and downslope towards the Pacific coast and Kahoma neighborhood. Firefighters were repeatedly stymied in their attempts to defend structures by failing water pressure in fire hydrants; as the melting pipes in burning homes leaked, the network lost pressure despite the presence of working backup generators.
At 4:46 p.m. HST (UTC 02:46), the fire reportedly crossed Honoapiʻilani Highway (Hawaii Route 30) and entered the main part of Lahaina, forcing residents to self-evacuate with little or no notice. At this time, bumper-to-bumper traffic developed. By 5:45 p.m. HST (UTC 03:45), the fire had reached the shoreline, when the United States Coast Guard first learned of people jumping into the ocean at Lahaina to escape the fire. Survivors later recalled getting trapped in a traffic jam and realizing they needed to go into the water when cars around them either caught fire or exploded.
Officials said that civil defense sirens were not activated during the fire even though Hawaii has the world's largest integrated outdoor siren warning system, with over 80 sirens on Maui alone meant to be used in cases of natural disasters. Several residents later told journalists that they had received no warning and did not know what was happening until they encountered smoke or flames. There had been no power or communications in Lahaina for much of the day, and authorities issued a confusing series of social media alerts which reached a small audience.
The death toll stood at 67 on August 11, but that number reflected only victims found outside buildings, because local authorities had waited for FEMA to send its specialized personnel to search building interiors. According to federal officials, many of the victims found outside "were believed to have died in their vehicles". The fire burned of land. PDC and FEMA estimated that 2,207 buildings had been destroyed, with a total of 2,719 exposed to the fires, and set the damage estimate at $5.52 billion as of August 11. The next day, Governor Josh Green announced the damage was close to $6 billion. Many historic structures were destroyed, including Waiola Church and Pioneer Inn. 86% of burned structures in Lāhaina were residential.
, at least 93 people had been confirmed dead in and around Lahaina with only 3% of the area searched. The number of dead was expected to rise further as FEMA search-and-rescue specialists searched the interiors of burned-down buildings. Very few victims have been identified.
, with 100% of the single-story, residential properties searched of the disaster area, 115 casualties had been confirmed with an additional 388 people missing. officials reported that 99% of the area had been searched, with the death toll unchanged at 115 and the missing count reduced to 110. The disaster area remained restricted to authorized personnel due to unstable structures, exposed electrical wires, and potentially toxic ash and debris. The following day, the missing count was further reduced to 66 people. On September 15, the death toll was reduced from 115 to 97 as officials reported that DNA findings discovered that some of the remains came from the same victims. The number of missing persons was also reduced to 31 with only 1 addition to the list.
On September 25 a small number of residents were allowed to enter North Lahaina for the first time in over 6 weeks. Officials planned to remove restrictions for all areas of the city over the next one to two months, pending cleanup efforts by the EPA.
The Lahaina fire's death toll was the largest for a wildfire in the U.S. since the Cloquet fire of 1918, which killed 453 people.
Pūlehu-Kīhei
On the same night as the Kula and Lahaina fires, another major fire sparked near Pūlehu Road, north of Kīhei. The fire quickly spread in the direction of the prevailing winds, and by early August 9, the large fire entered northeast portions of Kīhei, resulting in an evacuation order for multiple communities nearby. Within the following days, firefighters fully contained the fire and all residents were advised that it was safe to return.
Other fires
A small, single acre fire ignited on August 11, which led to the evacuation of Kāʻanapali in West Maui before it was contained that same day. Another fire in Kāʻanapali would ignite again on August 26 and have an evacuation order placed and lifted on the same day.
Hawaiʻi Island
In Hawaiʻi County, neighborhoods in the North and South Kohala districts of the Island of Hawaiʻi were evacuated due to rapidly spreading brush fires. On August 9, several other brush fires broke out near the communities of Nā'ālehu and Pāhala; those fires were quickly brought under control. Hawaiʻi County Mayor Mitch Roth said there were no reports of injuries or destroyed homes on the Big Island.
Oʻahu
On August 16, a large brushfire sprung up on the outskirts of Wahiawā on Oʻahu. Though it did not burn near any houses, the fire threatened local unhoused people as well as the Kūkaniloko Birth Site, a location registered under the National Register of Historic Places and near-thousand year old site that is the location of the births of Hawaiian chiefs.
Impact
The governor of the state of Hawaii, Josh Green, referred to the Lahaina wildfires as the "worst natural disaster" in the history of Hawaii. It is the fifth deadliest wildfire in United States history, and the most lethal wildfire in the country since the Cloquet fire of 1918, which killed 453 people.
Casualties
, there were 99 confirmed deaths, and six individuals are unaccounted for due to the Lahaina fire on Maui. As of September 17, 77 of the victims have been identified. Among the dead was confirmed to be a Filipino national who was a naturalized U.S. citizen. The death toll in West Maui made it the deadliest wildfire and natural disaster ever recorded in Hawaii since statehood with potential to double or triple in the near future; Hawaii's governor warned that "10 to 20" bodies may be found per day during the search, which was expected to last approximately ten more days.
, at least 67 people were injured in the fires. On August 9, at least twenty individuals were reported hospitalized at a Maui hospital. Six additional individuals, three of whom had critical burns, were reportedly transported by air ambulance from Maui to hospitals on Oʻahu.
On August 17, 60 survivors were found alive sheltering inside a single home.
Due to DNA testing determining that victims were unintentionally being counted multiple times, the death toll officially dropped from 115 to 97 on September 18th.
Damage
The main Maui wildfire burned much of the community of Lahaina, where more than 2,200 structures were damaged or destroyed, including much of the downtown Lahaina Historic District centered on Front Street. 96% of burned structures were residential. The was the commercial, residential, and cultural center of the community. On August 17, Governor Green noted that the fire temperature had reached , since it was hot enough to melt granite counters and engine blocks. Puddles of melted aluminum have been seen underneath burned-out vehicles.
Although PDC and FEMA had initially estimated total damage at around $5.52 billion, catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. estimated on August 16 that insured property losses would be only $3.2 billion. Real estate experts expressed concern that many Lahaina homes were uninsured or underinsured and surviving owners might not have sufficient financial resources to build new homes in compliance with the state's current building code. Many Native Hawaiians were able to afford to live in Lahaina only because they had inherited paid-off homes from previous generations, and since they had not needed mortgage loans to purchase their homes, they were not required to carry homeowners insurance coverage.
The Lahaina Historic District, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii for 35 years, suffered extensive fire damage. Among the structures destroyed were:
The Waiola Church, which celebrated its 200th anniversary in May 2023, lost its main sanctuary, annex, and social hall. Waiola Church's cemetery is the burial ground for members of the Hawaiian Royal Family, including Queen Keōpūolani, who founded the church in 1823.
The Lahaina Jodo Mission, a Buddhist temple in northern Lahaina. Established in 1912 and stood on its current location since 1932.
The Pioneer Inn, a landmark town hotel constructed by George Alan Freeland in 1901.
The Nā Aikāne Cultural Center, a local cultural center which once housed a soup kitchen for striking plantation workers during an International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) strike against the Pioneer Mill.
The Old Lahaina Courthouse, which first operated in 1860 as a customs house for trade and whaling ships. The building's roof was completely destroyed. The Old Lahaina Courthouse stands in heavily damaged Lahaina Banyan Court Park.
The Lahaina Heritage Museum and its collection, which were housed inside the Old Courthouse building, were also destroyed. The collection included items that spanned Lahaina's history, including artifacts from the area's ancient Hawaiian period, the Hawaiian Kingdom and monarchy, the plantation period, and the town's whaling era. Copies of the museum's documents had been digitized and stored online prior to the fire.
The Baldwin Home Museum, which was constructed in 1834 and 1835 as the home of American missionaries Dwight Baldwin and Charlotte Fowler Baldwin, burned to the ground. The Baldwin Home was the oldest house on the island of Maui. Historic items lost in the house fire included Baldwin's medical instruments he used to vaccinate much of Maui's population against smallpox in the 1800s, seashell collections, and the family's furniture and rocking chairs from the East Coast.
The Wo Hing Society Hall, built in the early 1910s to serve the growing Chinese population in Lahaina. It was restored and turned into the Wo Hing Museum in the 1980s.
The fire also destroyed several cell towers in affected areas, causing service outages and 9-1-1 emergency telephone services to be rendered unavailable. The wildfire that burned near the community of Kula, located in Maui's Upcountry, destroyed at least two homes.
The Maria Lanakila Catholic Church in Lahaina, which had been dedicated in 1858. Contrary to early reports, the main church building and steeple were not destroyed and survived the fire largely intact, though the roof and interior may have sustained some damage.
The Lahaina Civic Center, venue for the Maui Invitational Tournament, a prominent early-season college men's basketball event, has so far escaped significant damage, although it had to be evacuated after earlier serving as an evacuation center. It remains to be seen whether the 2023 tournament, scheduled for November, will be held on Maui or moved to the U.S. mainland.
Environment
Lahaina's famous banyan tree, the largest banyan tree in the United States, had most of its foliage charred, though was left standing after the fire. A video taken on August 11 showed local officials watering the tree to aid its recovery. At least some green foliage appeared to be present and the roots, trunks, and branches of the tree were largely undamaged.
On August 11, unsafe water alerts were issued as early as 3 p.m. (01:00 UTC) warning residents of Lahaina and Upper Kula, with instructions to not drink or use tap water for daily activities, even after boiling, and all residents were requested to limit water use. Following earlier deployments on August 9, further potable water tankers were set up at locations across the island. Some scientists have also warned that charred soils, toxic contaminated top soil and other debris could run off into the shoreline and cause marine habitats and coral to be damaged.
Evacuations
The fires prompted mass evacuations of thousands of residents and visitors from Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, Kīhei, and Kula. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that they had rescued 17 people who had jumped into the sea in Lahaina to escape the fires. As of August 12, more than 1,400 people on Maui remained in shelters. Vacationing San Francisco mayor London Breed was among those evacuated from Maui.
An estimated 11,000 people flew out of Maui via Kahului Airport on August 9, 2023.
American, Southwest, Hawaiian, and Alaska Airlines had added additional flights to their routes into Kahului Airport by August 10 to help evacuate people from the island, and American replaced a narrow-body Airbus A321 with a wide-body Boeing 777 to further boost capacity. All four airlines had also reportedly waived fare cancellation penalties and fare-difference fees for affected passengers, and Hawaiian and Southwest offered temporary $19 interisland flights until August 11. By August 13, 2023, over 46,000 visitors had flown out of Maui via Kahului Airport.
Hawaiian state officials created plans to house visitors along with thousands of displaced Maui residents at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu, Oʻahu and over 100 had stayed as of August 10.
After the fire swept through Lahaina on August 8, Maui County blocked public access to all of West Maui with checkpoints on Route 30/340 (Honoapiʻilani Highway, the only highway in and out of the area). Over the next three days, the blockade created a desperate situation for residents of still-intact communities who ran low on medicine, food, and fuel, while other residents and tourists who suddenly found themselves outside of the blockade wished to retrieve their belongings. On August 11, 2023, the County reopened the checkpoint on Route 30 at Māʻalaea to help ameliorate these issues. Within five hours, the checkpoint was closed again, reportedly because of attempts to enter the sealed-off portion of Lahaina.
On September 25 officials cleared a small area in North Lahaina for reentry, the first time in over 6 weeks that residents had been allowed back into the city. Visiting residents were provided with personal protective equipment and urged not to disturb the ash, which may contain hazardous materials such as asbestos and lead.
Wildlife and pets
The Maui Humane Society stated that there is an estimated 3,000 animals from Lahaina that were currently missing after the fires as of August 16. As of August 14, the society had received about 367 lost animal reports and some dual reported with the society and on the "Missing Pets of Maui" Facebook page created by the society which has about 6,400 members. Any found animals are checked for any identification and scanned for a microchip, with the society urging that found deceased animals should not be moved or destroyed so that they can be cataloged and checked for any identification.
Animal welfare advocates and the Maui Police were working in tandem to search the burned areas for lost, injured or deceased animals, with dozens of feeding and drinking stations set up to draw out animals. After the fire in order to make room for animals that were impacted by the fires, the Humane Society, and the only open-admission animal shelter on the island airlifted over 100 shelter animals to Portland, Oregon. Veterinarians and staff members of the Kīhei Veterinary Clinic, the Humane Society, and the Central Maui Animal Clinic and volunteers coordinated care for the found animals as well as disbursing free medical care, food and animal medication to island residents. Donations and care were also extended to the Maui Police Department's K-9 unit that are working with recovery efforts and housing for the animals.
Scientists with the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to prep for studies that would monitor and document any changes in water quality due to soil erosion and other effects of the fire that can affect the island's waterways and ecosystems. Others expressed thanks that areas such as the Maui Bird Conservation Center was spared from the majority of the fires, as it housed a large portion of the alalā flock.
Legal proceedings
Within two weeks of the Maui wildfires, lawyers from California, Florida, Oregon, Texas, and Washington had come to Maui to sign up wildfire victims as plaintiffs. Chief Disciplinary Counsel Bradley Tamm (the state's primary lawyer regulator) warned Hawaiians to be careful: "It’s a feeding frenzy. There are sharks both in the water and on the land". Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc., the primary electric utility for Maui, became a significant focus of such litigation. By August 14, at least one lawsuit had been filed against Hawaiian Electric, and the company experienced a decline in its stock value.
On August 9, 2023, a deputy attorney general representing the Board of Land and Natural Resources filed a petition for a writ of mandamus to the Hawai'i Supreme Court, alleging that a Hawaii circuit court judge's rulings regarding private water usage had restricted the amount of water available to fight the fires. This claim was disputed by the responding Sierra Club, who requested the Supreme Court to sanction the Attorney General for filing the petition under false pretenses. The attorney representing Maui County stated during the hearing that a lack of water was never an issue during the wildfires. The Supreme Court denied the petition.
On October 4, 2023, a filing with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission showed that Hawaiian Electric was underinsured against its potential liability exposure for the Maui wildfires, with only about $165 million in liability insurance coverage. According to ALM's Law.com, as of October 5, 2023, more than 35 lawsuits had been filed against Hawaiian Electric and other defendants. Most but not all had been filed in Hawaii state circuit courts, especially the Second Circuit based in Wailuku (which has jurisdiction over Maui County). In response, Hawaiian Electric retained California law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson as its lead defense counsel. The same law firm had previously worked for Pacific Gas and Electric on litigation arising out of the 2018 California wildfires, in which its attorneys had billed their time in 2019 at rates between $400 and $1,400 per hour.
Response
Federal government
U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the mobilization of "all available federal assets" to help respond to the wildfires. In a statement, Biden noted that the United States Navy Third Fleet and the United States Coast Guard were supporting "response and rescue efforts". The United States Department of Transportation was working with commercial airlines to help evacuate tourists from Maui. To help with the ongoing Coast Guard search and rescue operation, the United States Navy sent in Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Three Seven (HSM-37) and two MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, with the United States Indo-Pacific Command standing ready to provide additional assistance as needed. Meanwhile, the U.S. 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu was deployed alongside the Hawaii National Guard to Maui and Hawaii Island to assist with fire suppression support, search and rescue operations, and traffic control.
President Biden approved the state of Hawaii's request for a major disaster declaration on August 10, making federal funding available for recovery efforts in the affected areas. On August 10, FEMA initiated deployment of Urban Search and Rescue Task Force personnel from around the United States to Maui. Washington State Task Force 1 sent 45 specialists along with a 5-member K-9 team. Each human member of the K-9 team works with a canine partner, a FEMA-certified human remains detection dog. The same task force had previously deployed to Maui in 2018 to assist with the aftermath of Hurricane Lane. On August 10, Nevada Task Force 1 was initially asked to send one K-9 handler and dog, who left that same day. The request was amended to four more specialists, then on top of that, a full 45-member task force team, all of whom flew out on August 11.
FEMA initially provided $700 payments as one of several types of federal assistance available to survivors of the wildfire, which was meant to address immediate needs such as food, water, and clothing.
California sent 11 members of Urban Search and Rescue task forces based in the cities of Sacramento, Riverside, and Oakland, and six employees of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. On August 15, California announced that it was increasing its deployment to 101 people, including an incident management team of 67 Cal Fire employees. Among the new personnel arriving on Maui were forensic anthropologists from Chico State who had helped identify victims of the Camp Fire (2018).
By August 16, the number of FEMA cadaver dogs deployed to the scene had increased to 40, and Governor Green explained that the searchers were in a "race against time" to recover remains before they could be degraded by the next rainstorm. Each dog could only work for about 15 to 20 minutes in the tropical heat before rotating into an air-conditioned truck to cool down. The dogs also had to wear booties to shield their paws from asphalt temperatures exceeding and still-hot embers, but the booties themselves required frequent replacement.
Meanwhile, on August 15, a federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) arrived on the island to assist with the identification and processing of the large number of remains. The DMORT brought along a portable morgue in the form of of equipment and supplies, and nine Matson shipping containers were seen outside the Maui Police Department's Forensic Facility in Wailuku.
On August 17, a five-member National Response Team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrived on Maui to investigate the cause and origin of the Lahaina fire. The team included an electrical engineer from the Fire Research Laboratory.
On August 21, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrived at Kahului Airport, where they met with Governor Josh Green, his wife Jaime, as well as members of Hawaii's congressional delegation. The Bidens then boarded Marine One where they were given an aerial tour of the devastation. Biden then went to Lahaina where he met with first responders as well as local and state officials and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell. The Bidens walked through the ruins of the town seeing the area firsthand. They also took part in a blessing by island elders. Biden then spoke to the community and met with survivors at the Lahaina Civic Center.
By August 25, the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue task forces had searched 99% of the disaster area, and they wrapped up their work and returned home to the mainland United States.
State government
Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke, who was serving as acting governor in the absence of Governor Josh Green while he was traveling outside of Hawaii, issued an emergency proclamation and activated the Hawaii National Guard. The Hawaii National Guard, together with the U.S. 25th Infantry Division from Schofield Barracks on Oʻahu, deployed to Maui and Hawaii Island to assist with fire suppression support, search and rescue operations, and traffic control. Two UH-60 Blackhawk and one CH-47 Chinook helicopters were also deployed to support fire suppression efforts.
, the Hawaii Tourism Authority was asking all visitors on Maui for non-essential travel to leave the island and strongly discouraged any further non-essential travel to the island.
Previously closed to prioritize emergency services, access to West Maui via Honoapiʻilani Highway for residents with proof of residency and visitors with proof of hotel reservations was resumed beginning at 12 p.m. (UTC 22:00) on August 11. However, at 4 p.m. (UTC 02:00) access was again restricted due to reports of people accessing restricted areas despite hazardous conditions. Access was reopened the following day through Waihee (from the north) only.
On August 11, Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that her department would conduct a "comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies" surrounding the wildfires.
On August 16, Governor Josh Green announced his intention to create a moratorium on the sale of land damaged and destroyed by the fires. While acknowledging there may be legal challenges to such a moratorium, he asked "please don't approach them with an offer to buy land. Please don't approach their families to tell them that they are going to be better off if they make a deal, because we're not going to allow it."
On August 31, Attorney General Lopez disclosed in an interview that her office had hired UL's Fire Safety Research Institute to conduct an independent investigation on behalf of the state government, and the UL investigators had been on scene in Maui since August 24.
International assistance
Japan
Japan pledged $2 million of aid, with $1.5 million given to the American Red Cross and $500,000 given to the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Japan Platform.
South Korea
South Korea pledged $2 million of aid in support relief efforts. The pledge included a $1.5 million donation to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and $500,000 of supplies purchased from local Korean markets.
Taiwan
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Honolulu announced a $500,000 cash donation to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation to support relief efforts.
Fundraising and donations
Due to multiple GoFundMe fundraising efforts for those that were affected by the fires, the site put together a hub to gather all of the verified fundraisers, and added that by August 18 there had been more than 250,000 donors and $30 million raised through the site for those affected. Other organizations, communities and businesses across the United States held donation drives and fundraisers where proceeds and the items would be donated to specific nonprofits or groups. All twelve professional sports teams from the Los Angeles area donated $450,000 to relief efforts. In addition, proceeds from the October 8 preseason game at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz will go towards the Maui Strong Fund.
The Hawaiian Mission Houses Archives has uploaded items to their digitization project relevant to Lahaina's history such as photos, journals, drawings, and letters to aid in the recovery of historic sites.
Concerns about preparedness
A lack of adequate warning and preparation has also come into focus. Despite Hawaii's advanced integrated outdoor siren warning system, on Maui, 80 of these sirens, designed for tsunamis and other disasters, remained silent as the fires burned. The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency attributed the lack of activation to the fires' rapid progression and existing ground response coordination. And while residents received other alerts, such as mobile phone notifications, the intensity and urgency of these messages were deemed insufficient. At least one analyst compared them unfavorably to high-priority tsunami warnings, suggesting a possible alarm fatigue among residents, where frequent, less urgent alerts can diminish the perceived significance of real threats. The administrator of the Maui County Emergency Management Agency, Herman Andaya, defended the decision not to activate the emergency sirens in an August 16 press conference; he argued that the outdoor sirens exist only on the coastline and are normally used to warn residents to flee tsunamis by heading to the mountainside, which would have sent them straight into the fire. Andaya resigned the next day effective immediately, citing health reasons.
The Lahaina wildfires also exposed gaps in the state's wildfire preparedness. In a 2021 report, Hawaii officials ranked wildfire risk as "low" despite increasing fire acreage and dangers from drought and non-native grasses. The report criticized inadequate funding and lack of fire prevention strategies. Previous wildfires served as a warning, but risks were not adequately addressed. Hawaii's fire management budgets had not kept pace with growing threats, according to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization. Non-native, flammable grasses remained widespread, increasing fire risk. The climatologist Abby Frazier emphasized Hawaii's extreme wildfire vulnerability and called for more serious fire prevention efforts. The 2021 Maui County report had recommended fire hazard risk assessment and replacing non-native grasses, but it is unclear if these recommendations were implemented.
A state official for the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources delayed the request of the release of water by the West Maui Land Co. to protect its holdings until it was too late. In early September, it was reported that residents of numerous communities around the state of Hawaii had become deeply worried about the risk of losing their own homes to wildfires, after seeing how Lahaina had been so suddenly destroyed.
Conspiracy theories
Following the fires, a variety of conspiracy theories about them were posted to social media, notably by far-right conspiracy theorist Stew Peters. Some contained doctored images or images and videos of other unrelated events presented as being from the fires, often ostensibly demonstrating that a directed-energy weapon or "space laser" was involved. There have also been mentions of famous individuals' estates in Hawaii that have not been damaged from the fires, prompting unsubstantiated accusations of blame. Other posts have claimed that wildfires do not occur naturally or that vegetation is not left standing in a natural fire. Real Raw News, a fake news website, promoted falsehoods about U.S. Marines attacking a FEMA convoy fleeing the wildfires and arresting FEMA deputy administrator Erik Hooks.
Researchers from Microsoft, Recorded Future, the RAND Corporation, NewsGuard and the University of Maryland found that a Chinese government-directed disinformation campaign used the disaster to attempt to sow discord in the US. Lahaina residents were discouraged from going to the agencies for assistance by disinformation from people who regularly spread Russian propaganda.
See also
2023 Canadian wildfires
2023 Greece wildfires
List of wildfires in the United States
Wildfires in the United States
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
August 2023 Wildfires | Hawaii Emergency Management Agency
Maui Wildfire Disaster — Government and Community Response | County of Maui, Hawaii
Support for Maui Wildfire Relief | Maui Nui Strong (County of Maui)
Wildfires
2023 wildfires in the United States
August 2023 events in the United States
Lists of wildfires in the United States
Natural disasters in Hawaii
History of Hawaii (island)
History of Maui
History of Oahu
Lahaina, Hawaii |
74575966 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020%20Russian%20wildfires | 2020 Russian wildfires | In June 2020, despite being within the Arctic circle, Verkhoyansk hit a temperature of . In Russia's two easternmost districts, 18,591 distinct fires have consumed .
In September 2020 scientists warned that an "international effort is needed to manage a changing fire regime in the vulnerable Arctic", reporting that satellite data shows how the Arctic fire regime is changing. On 3 September EU institutions reported that, according to satellite data, the Arctic fires already far surpassed the total of CO2 emissions for the 2019 season.
References
Russian Wildfires
Wildfires
Russian Wildfires
2020 Russian wildfires
Smog events
Health disasters in Russia
July 2020 events in Asia
August 2020 events in Asia
July 2020 events in Europe
August 2020 events in Europe
July 2020 events in Russia
August 2020 events in Russia |
74642601 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Tenerife%20wildfire | 2023 Tenerife wildfire | On 15 August 2023, a forest fire broke out on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands of Spain. The fire, driven by the wind, heat, and low humidity levels, caused mass evacuations, widespread damage to the island's flora and fauna, as well as power and water supply cuts in some of the affected municipalities.
Within three days, the fire would enter its "sixth generation" due to its great intensity and highly destructive power. It is also the worst fire the Canary Islands have suffered in the last 40 years and the worst fire in Spain in 2023.
Events
The fire originated on the night of 15 August, in the highlands of the municipality of Arafo, quickly spreading to the neighboring municipality of Candelaria. Precisely, that day was celebrated in the latter municipality the main acts of the day of the Virgin of Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Islands.
The following day, the fire had already crossed the Dorsal mountain range and entered the north of the island through the municipality of Santa Úrsula. The row of smoke chimneys covered several kilometers, opening different fronts. Later it would enter the municipality of La Victoria de Acentejo and other northern municipalities. Due to the direction of the wind, the cloud of smoke and ash spread over the metropolitan area of the island, even forcing the closure of the Parque Marítimo César Manrique in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, due to the repeated fall of ash.
By 18 August, the fire has spread through 11 municipalities, has consumed an area of more than 5,000 hectares and close to a perimeter of in Arafo, Candelaria, El Rosario, La Victoria de Acentejo, La Matanza de Acentejo, Tacoronte, Santa Úrsula, El Sauzal, La Orotava, Los Realejos and Güímar. On 19 August, more than 26,000 people had been evacuated and taken to shelters specially established by the affected municipalities. Also that day, the fire entered the Teide National Park.
By Sunday, 20 August, the fire already affected 10,000 hectares, with a perimeter of 70 kilometers with a large front in the north of the island, although with more favorable weather conditions than in previous days. More than 300 troops were dispatched fighting against the fire, which that night caused the evacuation of more than 12,200 people from 11 different municipalities.
On 21 August, the fire entered the municipality of Fasnia, thus becoming the 12th affected municipality. Likewise, the flames reached the vicinity of the Teide Observatory telescopes, although there was no material damage to them. By that day, the fire had burned 13,300 hectares in a perimeter of 90 kilometers. That day, Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited the affected areas and announced the declaration of a "catastrophic zone" for the island of Tenerife. On 22 August, a week had passed since the start of the fire, with the fire already affecting 14,624 hectares in a perimeter of in 12 different municipalities.
By 23 August, those who were evacuated were able to return home. Two days later, the fire was stabilized. On September 11, the fire was considered controlled after almost a month since its start and more than 14,000 hectares burned. On 11 September, the fire was considered controlled after almost a month since its start and more than 14,000 hectares burned.
On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, the fire that had not yet been put out was reactivated. It affected the municipalities of Santa Úrsula and La Orotava, affecting about 30 hectares of land and with about 3,200 residents evacuated. In subsequent days, other fronts were reactivated due to the wind and heat.
On 24 October, the Kings of Spain Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visited the area affected by the Tenerife fire. That same day the Tenerife fire was lowered to level 0 after improving weather conditions.
Impact
The fire has had repercussions in the national and international media and political personalities in Spain expressed their wishes for a happy end to the Tenerife forest fire. The Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska traveled to Tenerife to see first-hand the extent of the fire. Numerous emergency units have been deployed from different Canary Islands and other parts of Spain.
Damage
The affected area in each of the municipalities include:
Arafo (44%)
Candelaria (35%)
Santa Úrsula (20%)
La Victoria de Acentejo (15%)
El Rosario (13%)
El Sauzal (7%)
La Orotava (5%)
La Matanza de Acentejo (4%)
Tacoronte (1%)
See also
List of wildfires
References
External links
2023 wildfires
2023 in the Canary Islands
2023 disasters in Spain
2023 fires in Europe
August 2023 events in Spain
Wildfires in Spain
2023 wildfires |
74664745 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023%20Louisiana%20wildfires | 2023 Louisiana wildfires | In a three-month period from August to October 2023, wildfires in Louisiana have burned more than , and forced evacuations across several towns in the state, including Merryville and Singer. First burning on August 22, at least 441 wildfires are active across 17 parishes, and the fires have burned at least 21 buildings, prompting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to approve an assistance grant in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. At least 100 Louisiana National Guard troops were deployed on standby as several wildfires were contained. The most significant fire, the Tiger Island fire in Beauregard Parish, is the largest wildfire recorded in the state, burning over 50,000 acres.
Preparations and impact
Merryville High School closed, and a high school in Singer, Louisiana was closed. Several state routes across Beauregard Parish were closed, including portions of Louisiana highways 27, 110, and 389. In DeRidder, nursing homes were evacuated as a precaution due to the fast-moving Tiger Island fire.
On August 21, a red flag warning was issued for southwestern Louisiana. Wildfire smoke from the Louisiana wildfires was observed as far as Lafayette and Acadiana. Wildfire smoke also caused hazy skies across the New Orleans metropolitan area, and wildfire smoke was observed as far east as southern Mississippi. Several fires were started across Calcasieu, Sabine, Tangipahoa, and Vernon parishes, where an arrest was made in connection to the Vernon Parish fire. The wildfire in Tangipahoa parish burned . As of August 26, all fires across Calcasieu, Sabine, Tangipahoa, and Vernon parishes were contained. A mandatory evacuation was issued for portions of Vernon parish. The wildfires also occurred in an area where an "extreme" or "exceptional" drought was occurring. 17 parishes where wildfires were occurring declared a state of emergency. Water infrastructure near Singer was damaged, leading to significant losses in pressure and causing outages. At least two fatalities occurred.
Tiger Island fire
On August 22, a fire started in Beauregard Parish, before spreading to numerous areas of the Parish. Power outages occurred in Singer, Louisiana, and a main water line north of Singer burned due to the fires, forcing the Beauregard Parish Police Jury to shut off water from the connecting water lines, including water lines to Merryville. The fire spread further after a gusty thunderstorm produced wind gusts of over . At least ten buildings were destroyed by the fires. The town of Evans was also under a mandatory evacuation order. 348 loads of water and nearly 161,000 gallons were used with firefighting efforts. On August 25, evacuation orders were issued for Bancroft and Junction. Two days later, on August 27, the fire grew in size to , and, according to officials, became the largest wildfire ever recorded in the state. On August 29, the fire was only 50 percent contained as the fire burned more than . The Louisiana State Department of Agriculture and Forestry said the fire had been caused by arson. Rainfall across western portions of the fire in early September 2023 helped firefighters to increase the containment of the wildfire to 65 percent. The community of Neale was also burned. One death occurred in Singer.
Pitkin fire
On August 24, a fire described as "out of control" was reported in Vernon Parish, near Pitkin, Louisiana. Nearby residents were evacuated, and multiple structures began to burn.
Response
The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved the Fire Management Assistance Grant in Beauregard Parish. The American Red Cross assisted with relief efforts, and the United States Army Blackhawk helicopters assisted with firefighting operations. Assistance also came from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee, and 161 bulldozers from the National Guard were deployed. A Boeing CH-47 Chinook was also deployed to help with efforts to drop water onto the fires; at least 161,000 gallons of water were dropped from the CH-47. Four strike teams were to arrive from Florida with 160 firefighters and 20 bulldozers. Merryville, Louisiana was under a mandatory evacuation order that has since been lifted. Emergency operations centers were activated on August 23, and a church was opened for a temporary shelter in DeRidder, Louisiana. On August 25, Texas governor Greg Abbott announced that firefighters and emergency personnel would be dispatched to Merryville, Louisiana to assist in firefighting efforts. More than 200 Louisiana National Guard troops were dispatched to assist in firefighting efforts. Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards stated that "Nobody alive in Louisiana has ever seen these conditions." Governor Edwards also assessed damage across Vernon and Sabine parishes. Toledo Bend Army Recreation Park near the Toledo Bend Reservoir was closed. The United Way of southwest Louisiana started a fire fund for collecting donations to assist wildfire victims. On August 29, Beauregard Parish School Board schools resumed operations and classes.
References
2023 wildfires in the United States
August 2023 events in the United States
Natural disasters in Louisiana |
1539193 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary%20of%20wildfire%20terms | Glossary of wildfire terms | This glossary of wildfire terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to wildfires and wildland firefighting. Except where noted, terms have largely been sourced from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter-terrorism studies website by the Air National Guard.
For related terminology, see Glossary of firefighting terms and Glossary of firefighting equipment.
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See also
Glossary of firefighting
Glossary of firefighting equipment
List of basic firefighting topics
References
Wildfires
Wildfire
Wikipedia glossaries using description lists |
1599548 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%20of%20wildfires | List of wildfires | This is a list of notable wildfires.
Africa
2017 Knysna fires, South Africa
2021 Algeria wildfires
2021 Table Mountain fire, South Africa
2022 Moroccan wildfires
Asia
China
1987 – The Black Dragon Fire burnt a total of of forest along the Amur River, with destroyed on the Chinese side alone and spread to the Soviet side.
1996 – Pat Sin Leng wildfire, Tai Po; 5 hikers killed (3 pupils and 2 teachers) on 10 February.
India
2019 Bandipur forest fires
2016 Uttarakhand forest fires
2020 Uttarakhand forest fires
2020–21 Dzüko Valley wildfires
2021 Simlipal forest fires
Indonesia
1997 Indonesian forest fires
Israel
1989 Mount Carmel forest fire
1995 Jerusalem forest fire
2010 Mount Carmel forest fire – Started on 2 December 2010 and burned of forest, killing 44 people, most of them Israel Prison Service officer cadets, when a bus evacuating them was trapped in flames.
November 2016 Israel wildfires
2021 Israel wildfires
Kazakhstan
2022 Kazakhstan wildfires
2023 Kazakhstan wildfires – 14 people died in a series of forest fires caused by lightning in the northeast of the country.
Malaysia
2005 Malaysian haze
Mongolia
2022 Mongolian wildfires
Pakistan
2022 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wildfires
South East Asia
1997 Southeast Asian haze
2006 Southeast Asian haze
2009 Southeast Asian haze
2010 Southeast Asian haze
2013 Southeast Asian haze
2015 Southeast Asian haze
2016 Southeast Asian haze
2017 Southeast Asian haze
2019 Southeast Asian haze
South Korea
April 2000, Gangwon-do Gangneung wildfire
March 2013, Gyeongsangbukdo Pohang wildfire.
Syria
2020 – Fires in Al-Suwayda Governorate in May, followed by Al-Hasakah Governorate in the summer, then in Latakia and Hama Governorates in September, next in Latakia again, Homs, and Tartus Governorates in October.
Vietnam
2019 Vietnam forest fires
Arctic
According to the WTO in June 2019 arctic wildfires emitted of CO2. This was more than between 2010 and 2018 combined. Most carbon release was from Alaska and Siberia, but also included other arctic areas e.g., in Canada. In Siberia the temperature was about higher in June 2019 than the average. In Anchorage, Alaska, on 4 July 2019, the temperature was , setting a new all-time record high temperature for the town.
Europe
Croatia
2007 Croatian coast fires, burning .
France
The 1949 Landes Forest Fire burned of forest land and killed 82 people.
2021 France wildfires
Germany
In the fire on the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony in August 1975, of heathland burned, killing 5 firefighters.
In May/June 1992 near Weißwasser (Saxony) of forest burned. One firefighter was killed in an accident.
Greece
1985 forest fires burnt 105,000 hectares with the worst affected being around Kavala in eastern Macedonia and Thasos Island in the north Aegean.
2000 forest fires were the worst forest fires to date and included the island of Samos in east Aegean and at Mount Mainalon and eastern Corinthia in the Peloponnese. The burnt area was 167,000 hectares which is the second highest in recent history (after the 2007 fires).
2007 Greek forest fires were by far the worst fires in recent Greek history. Over 270,000 hectares were burnt mostly in the Peloponnese region (especially in Elis region) and southern Evia as well as Mount Parnitha near Athens.
2009 Greek forest fires saw 21,000 hectares burnt around Mount Penteli near Athens.
2018 Greek wildfires were the deadliest in recent history with over 100 deaths in and around the village of Mati near Athens.
2021 Greek wildfires were the worst fires since 2007 with over 125,000 hectares burnt mostly in northern Evia, the Elis region of Peloponnese and around Tatoi near Athens.
2023 Greek wildfires
Italy
2021 Italy wildfires
2023 Italy wildfires
Mediterranean
2009 Mediterranean wildfires in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey in July.
2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires
Poland
1992:
10 August – a fire on the Noteć Forest burned of forest.
26 August – Kuźnia Raciborska fire: on a fire in and around Kuźnia Raciborska destroyed of forest and killed two firefighters.
2020: A fire in the Biebrza National Park burned 6,000 ha of forest.
Portugal
August 2003 Wildfires, destroying 10% of Portuguese forests and killing 18 people.
2016 Portugal wildfires
June 2017 Portugal wildfires and October 2017 Portugal wildfires, catastrophic series of fires that trapped and killed more than 100 people.
2018 - wildfires near the city of Portimao.
Russia
July and August 1915 Siberian wildfires fires burned for 50 days and burned about 14 million ha.
1921 Mari wildfires
August 1935 – Kursha-2 settlement was burned out with 1,200 victims.
2003 Russian wildfires – more than (20 million hectares), primarily Boreal forest, were burned in southern Siberia from 14 March to 8 August. Direct carbon emissions were around 400-640 TgC ().
2010 Russian wildfires – Drought and the hottest summer since records began in 1890 caused many devastating forest fires in European Russia.
2015 Russian wildfires – A series of wildfires in southern Siberia killed 26 people and left thousands homeless.
2018 Russian wildfires
2019 Russian wildfires – were burning as of 2 August according to Russia's Federal Forestry Agency ( according to Greenpeace).
2020 Russian wildfires
2021 Russian wildfires
2022 Siberian wildfires
Spain
17 July 2005 – Guadalajara province – a forest fire caused by an improperly extinguished barbecue burned and killed 11 firefighters. The environmental councilor of Castilla-La Mancha, Rosario Arévalo, resigned from her position as a result.
2016 Benidorm forest fire – burnt more than and destroyed at least 20 homes.
June 2019 – burning near Tarragona.
2019 Canary Islands wildfires
2023 Tenerife wildfire
Turkey
2009 Mediterranean wildfires
2020 Turkish wildfires
2021 Turkish wildfires
Sweden
2014 Västmanland wildfire – a forest fire with 1 verified death.
2018 Sweden wildfires
Ukraine
Wildfire near Kreminna, 1996 – around 70 km2 (7,000 ha)
Wildfire in Kherson Oblast (uk), 2007 – more than 87.5 km2 (87,500 ha)
2020 Chernobyl Exclusion Zone wildfires – 470 km2 (47,000 ha)
United Kingdom
May 2011 – Swinley Forest fire, Berkshire, England. Fire appliances from 12 counties attended over several days due to the large area of the fire. The fire service incident log for the call was over 500 pages long.
2018 United Kingdom wildfires
2019 United Kingdom wildfires
Cannich wildfire
North America
Canada and the United States
From 2007 to 2017, wildfires burned an average of per year in the U.S. and Canada, respectively.
Check out the US fire map at https://www.fireweatheravalanche.org/fire/ for more information.
† Indicates a currently burning fire
Greenland
Some wildfires occurred in Greenland in August 2017.
There was a large wildfire between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq from July to August 2019. It was put out by members of Beredskabsstyrelsen, who were flown in.
Mexico
2021 Nuevo León wildfires
Oceania
Australia
Black Thursday bushfires of 1851 (Victoria) with 5 million hectares burnt. This record was broken in the 2019/2020 Black Summer.
Black Friday bushfires of 1939 (Victoria) with 2 million hectares burnt.
Black Sunday bushfires of 1955 (South Australia)
1961 Western Australian bushfires with 1,800,000 hectares burnt.
Black Tuesday bushfires of 1967 (Tasmania) with 260,000 hectares burnt.
1974-75 Australian bushfire season (Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia)
Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1983 (Victoria and South Australia) with 520,000 hectares burnt.
1994 Eastern seaboard fires (New South Wales) with 800,000 hectares burnt.
Black Christmas bushfires 2001–2002 (New South Wales) with 750,000 hectares burnt.
Canberra bushfires of 2003
Black Saturday bushfires of 2009 (Victoria) with 400,000 hectares burnt and the highest death toll of over 170 deaths.
2019–20 Australian bushfire season – "Black summer" – the worst bushfire season in modern Australian history. Nationwide burned (approximately) a total of 18,636,079 hectares (46,050,750 acres).
New Zealand
Raetihi Forest fire (Manawatu)
2017 Port Hills fires (Canterbury)
2019 Nelson fires
South America
Argentina
2008 Delta del Paraná wildfires
2020 Delta del Paraná wildfires
2020 Córdoba wildfires
2021 Argentine Patagonia wildfires
2022 Corrientes wildfires
Bolivia
2010 Bolivia forest fires
Brazil
2019 Brazil wildfires
2020 Brazil rainforest wildfires
Chile
2011–2012 Torres del Paine fire
2012 Araucanía wildfires
2014 Valparaíso wildfire
2017 Chile wildfires
2021 Chilean Patagonia wildfire
2022 Tierra del Fuego wildfire
2023 Chile wildfires
Ecuador
1985 Isabela Island forest fire, Galápagos Islands, lost in March.
Venezuela
2020 Cagua fire
See also
List of historic fires
List of deadliest wildfires/bushfires
List of largest fires of the 21st-century
List of town and city fires
Wildfires in 2023
References |
1740561 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire%20Studios | Wildfire Studios | Wildfire Studios is an Australian video game developer that was established in 1995. It is based in Brisbane, Australia.
Wildfire has developed several pinball games for video game publishers, but their most recent games are released through RealNetworks.
Portfolio
Jungo, self-published
Danny Phantom Ghost Frenzy, published by Nickelodeon
Tumblebugs, published by Realarcade
Balls of Steel, published by Pinball Wizards (see 3D Realms)
Kiss Pinball, Global Star Software (named after band Kiss)
Dirt Track Racing Pinball, Ratbag Games
Austin Powers Pinball, Gotham Games and Global Star Software (named after film series Austin Powers)
Devil's Island Pinball, self-published
Tumblebugs 2, published by Big Fish Games
RealNetworks games
Balls of Steel: Creature Attack!
Devil's Island Pinball
Tumblebugs
WiiWare games
Tumblebugs, published by Gameshastra
External links
Wildfire Studios Official website
Jungo Official website
Video game companies of Australia
Video game companies established in 1995
Video game development companies |
1899741 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire%20%28disambiguation%29 | Wildfire (disambiguation) | Wildfire is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or rural areas.
Wildfire or Wild Fire may also refer to:
People
"Wildfire", Chippewa name of sculptor Edmonia Lewis (c. 1844–1907)
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional entities
Wildfire (Drake Burroughs), a DC Comics superhero and member of the Legion of Super-Heroes
Wildfire (Carol Vance Martin), a Quality Comics female superhero from the 1940s
Wildfire, a flammable substance similar to Greek fire, featured in George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones
Wildfire, a spaceship capable of crossing universes in the British TV miniseries Red Dwarf
Wildfire, a biological facility in The Andromeda Strain
Wildfire, a playable "Trap Master" character in Skylanders: Trap Team
Films
Wildfire (1915 film), an American drama film produced by the Shuberts
Wildfire (1925 film), an American drama film directed by T. Hayes Hunter
Wildfire (1945 film), an American film directed by Robert Emmett Tansey
Wildfire (1988 film), an American film directed by Zalman King
Wildfire (2020 film), an Irish drama thriller film directed by Cathy Brady
Gaming
WildFire (2016), a 3D MOBA video game developed by NetEase Inception Studios
Jagged Alliance 2: Wildfire, a mod for the computer game Jagged Alliance 2
Sonic Wild Fire, the former name for the Sonic and the Secret Rings video game for the Nintendo Wii
WildFire For NX, a spiritual successor to the Disaster: Day Of Crisis video game for the Nintendo Wii
Wildfire Games, a freeware hobbyist game developer studio
Wildfire Pinball, a handheld pinball simulator manufactured by Parker Brothers in 1979
Literature
Wild Fire (novel), a 2006 novel by Nelson DeMille
Wildfire, a play by George Broadhurst New York 1908, filmed as Wildfire (1915 film)
Wildfire, a 1986 romance novel by Alexandra Scott, published by Harlequin
Wildfire, the Story of a Wild Horse novel by Zane Grey made into a film When Romance Rides (1922)
Wildfire, an imprint of the publisher Headline Publishing Group
Music
Groups
Wild Fire (band), an American hard rock band
Albums
Wild Fire (album), a 1971 album by jazz saxophonist Rusty Bryant
Wild Fire, a 1985 album by John Holt
Wildfire (Rachel Platten album), a 2016 album by singer-songwriter Rachel Platten
Wildfire, the working title for Julianne Hough's unreleased second album.
Songs
"Wildfire" (Crowder song), 2018
"Wildfire" (Michael Martin Murphey song), 1975
"Wildfire" (SBTRKT song), 2011
"The Wildfire (If It Was True)", by Mando Diao, 2007
"Wildfire", a song by Bad Wolves on the album Dear Monsters
"Wildfire", a song by Ben Rector on the album The Walking in Between
"Wildfire", a song by Blink-182 on the album California (Blink-182 album)
"Wildfire", a song by Budgie from their EP If Swallowed, Do Not Induce Vomiting
"Wildfire", a song by The Coral on their album The Coral
"Wildfire", a song by Crossfaith featuring Benji Webbe of Skindred on the album Xeno
"Wildfire", a song by Demi Lovato from her album Confident
"Wildfire", a song by HammerFall on the album (r)Evolution
"Wildfire", a song by In Hearts Wake on the album Skydancer
"Wildfire", a song by John Mayer on his album Paradise Valley
"Wildfire", a song by Marianas Trench from their album Astoria
"Wildfire", a song by P.O.D. on the album Payable on Death
"Wildfire", a song by Sara Evans on her album Stronger
"Wildfires", a song by Sault on the album Untitled (Black Is)
"Wildfire", a song by Sonata Arctica on the album Reckoning Night
"Wildfire, Part: II - One With the Mountain" and "Part: III - Wildfire Town, Population: 0", sequels to the Sonata Arctica song in Stones Grow Her Name
"Wildfire", a song by Tinashe from her album Aquarius
"Wildfire", a song by Zac Brown Band on the album Jekyll + Hyde
"Wildfire", a song by 311 on the album Mosaic
Television
Wildfire (1986 TV series), an animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1986
Wildfire (2005 TV series), an American television drama series on ABC Family
"Wild Fire" (The Burning Zone), an episode of the television series The Burning Zone
"Wildfire" (The Walking Dead), an episode of the television series The Walking Dead
Roller coasters
Wildfire (Kolmården Wildlife Park), a roller coaster at Kolmården Wildlife Park in Bråviken, Sweden
Wildfire (Silver Dollar City), a roller coaster in Silver Dollar City, Missouri
Technology
Wildfire, an XMPP server, the old name of Openfire
Wildfire, a graphics and animation software application for AmigaOS computers
HTC Wildfire, an Android OS smartphone made by HTC Corporation
HTC Wildfire S, an updated version of the HTC Wildfire smartphone
Wildfire 5.0, one name for the CAD/CAM/CAE software called Pro/ENGINEER
Wildfire Communications Inc, a voice communications startup that was sold to Orange
Wildfire Interactive Inc, a social marketing application that was sold to Google
Transportation
Wild Fire, a type of rocket vehicle designed by the da Vinci Project
Wildfire (motor company), manufacturers of small-engine and electric vehicles
Wildfire, a slave ship arrested off the Florida coast by the U.S. Navy in 1860
Woodill Wildfire, an American sports car
Other uses
Wildfire, a restaurant concept owned by Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Miliaria profunda, the most severe form of the miliaria skin disease, sometimes referred to as "wildfire"
See also
Wyldfire, a dating app introduced in 2014 |
2402425 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire%20%28Drake%20Burroughs%29 | Wildfire (Drake Burroughs) | Wildfire is a superhero appearing in DC Comics, primarily as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Created by Cary Bates and Dave Cockrum, the character debuted in Superboy #195 (June 1973).
Publication history
Cockrum originally wanted to name the character Starfire, but was rejected because there were already plans to introduce a character named Starfire in the Teen Titans.
Wildfire was immediately popular with readers. At that time, the editors of Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes held periodic elections in which readers could choose the Legion's leader. Soon after his introduction, Wildfire was elected to that post. In-story, Wildfire actually lost the election to Superboy, but as no candidate had received a majority of the votes, the membership decided that the Legion needed a member who was available full-time rather than the time travelling, part-time Kryptonian member.
Fictional character biography
Original
Wildfire was originally Drake Burroughs, a failing astroengineer student at Metropolis University. While helping with a propulsion system the university was developing, Burroughs began clowning around, resulting in a safety valve snapping. A blast of anti-matter energy engulfed him, and his body disintegrated instantly. However, his consciousness somehow survived, and he was transformed into a being of pure anti-energy. Professor Vultan, of whom Burroughs had been a student, developed a "containment suit" that could be used to keep Drake's anti-energy from dispersing. Once confined to a specific area, Drake's energy form stabilized and became self-regenerating. He again possessed a semblance of humanoid form, but he had no true human form and lacked most human sensory functions, such as taste or touch.
Drake's new form has vast super-powers, the most potent of which is the power to fire energy blasts. He was originally reluctant to use the ability due to an accident in which he nearly killed his former girlfriend. Calling himself ERG-1 (Energy Release Generator 1), Drake decides to petition for membership in the Legion, where he "bulled" that he was an astrophysicist so as to seem more impressive. To his surprise, he is turned down because the abilities he demonstrated simply duplicate those of other members such as Mon-El, Colossal Boy, and Chemical King; at that time, Legion's by-laws required that each member possess at least one superpower no other active member had. Drake had not demonstrated his energy-blasting or manipulation abilities because he was concerned he could not control them safely. Still, anxious to prove his abilities, he followed several Legionnaires on a mission to the planet Manna-5, during which Colossal Boy is knocked unconscious by an enemy machine, and none of the other Legionnaires present have the power to save him. ERG-1 destroys the machine, but he expels all his energy from his containment suit. Because his energy form is invisible, the Legionnaires assumed he was dead, but he was not.
His energy form was stable enough so that he could survive without his suit, though he can neither take humanoid form nor communicate with anyone. He followed the Legionnaires back to Earth where they put his containment suit on display. Upon reaching the Legionnaires' headquarters, he manages to regain the suit and save the Legion from another menace. He was then admitted to the team and adopted the name Wildfire.
Over time, Wildfire loses many of his powers. This is partly because of the trauma of the explosive exit from his containment suit. In addition, his original containment suit is eventually destroyed, and subsequent copies were not as versatile. His later suits are also not nearly as durable, and it is easier to cause him to be expelled from it. Even so, he always retains his powers of flight, energy absorption, energy projection, and super strength. He is commonly considered among the four most powerful Legionnaires along with Superboy, Mon-El and Ultra Boy.
Initially, Wildfire and Superboy are rivals and fight over the position of team leader. Wildfire acquits himself well in that battle, establishing that his raw power is comparable to a Kryptonian's. As leader, Wildfire receives mixed reviews. Though he is decisive and a gifted tactician, his poor people skills alienate many of his fellow members (though not, ironically, Superboy; at the conclusion of a particularly rough crisis, he tells his one-time rival that he had become "one hell of a Legionnaire"). He leads the Legion through the Earthwar and Omega crises but is defeated for re-election by Lightning Lad.
Shortly after becoming leader, Wildfire recruits a young Amerindian mutant, Dawnstar. He soon becomes enamored of her, but for years theirs is a love-hate relationship. It is clear to their teammates that they are extremely fond of each other, if not actively in love, but Dawnstar will not admit her feelings. Wildfire, in return, is often passive-aggressive in his treatment of her. It is eventually revealed that Dawnstar does reciprocate his feelings, but she fears that she will never know physical love since Wildfire does not possess a physical body.
Some time later, the Legion admits an extra-dimensional being, Quislet. Like Wildfire, Quislet is an entity of pure energy and requires a containment device to survive on Earth. Unlike Wildfire, though, Quislet's condition is natural to his species. He teaches Wildfire how to control his energy form without needing the containment suit. In this new form, Wildfire is much closer to human, being visible, tangible, and possessing facial features, but his body is still so hot that his mere touch burns Dawnstar. The two star-crossed lovers attempt to consummate their passion, but Wildfire cannot bear to cause her pain (though she is willing to attempt to bear it). He may have attained greater control of his temperature given further lessons with Quislet, but before he can do so, Quislet's own containment device is destroyed and he is forced to return to his own dimension. Quislet has been surreptitiously assisting Wildfire to maintain physical form, and after he leaves, Wildfire quickly loses the ability to maintain his form. He resumes use of the containment suit and remains in that form for some time; eventually, in post-Crisis continuity, he uses his powers to reignite Earth's sun, and his consciousness ends up in Sun Boy's corpse, a condition he maintains until the Legion reboot.
Post-Zero Hour
Following Zero Hour, Wildfire was absent from Legion comics for some years, and when he returned, it was with a drastically different origin.
In a fight with Mordru, Atom'X (Randall Burroughs) and Blast-Off (Jahr-Drake Ningle), members of the Uncanny Amazers and Workforce respectively, were seemingly killed by the villain. Some time later, several Legionnaires noticed energy patterns in the area, and Umbra was able to contain the energy long enough for them to realize that it was sentient. When they retrieved it to a laboratory, they found it contained the inseparable minds of both Atom'X and Blast-Off. Although Umbra in particular was disgusted by the forced integration, they successfully contained the energy long enough to create a containment suit for it, and the new being took the name Drake Burroughs after his forebears and the codename ERG-1.
Shortly afterward, ERG-1 was one of the Legionnaires lost in a spatial rift — although he suffered a traumatic experience as his containment suit was ripped open by the rift.
When Element Lad returned the other Legionnaires to normal space, albeit becoming separated from them in time in the process, ERG-1's energy leached into space, congealing as a "star" noticed by Shikari's nomadic people, the Kwai, which led her to discover and accidentally revive the other Legionnaires, who had been held in suspended animation. Soon afterward, while the Legionnaires met the Kwai, Kid Quantum noticed that the "feral star" the Kwai had been following was in fact ERG-1. Brainiac 5, with the Kwai's help and materials, managed to create a new containment suit for him, restoring a semblance of form to him. In addition, the time spent alone in space had merged his two minds into one. Shortly afterward, he took the name Wildfire after a mistranslation by Shikari.
Some time after they returned to their home galaxy, however, he was captured by Qward and used to power their whole planet for a considerable period. Though his power was great, it was finite, and after his rescue, he was left so weakened by the experience that the threat of running out of energy became a real and ongoing threat to him.
"Threeboot"
Drake was eventually introduced into the "Threeboot" continuity in the "Quest for Cosmic Boy" storyline. This version of Drake has the same abilities as the previous versions, and his containment suit is identical to the one he used in pre-Zero Hour continuity. This version of E.R.G.-1 was believed to have been destroyed when his containment suit ruptured during his try-out mission, but his energy was collected and reconstituted by his brother Randall. This E.R.G.-1 was manipulated by his brother to become an assassin, but that was eventually stopped by Brainiac 5 and Atom Girl. He was later seen fighting the creatures from the Intruder Planet.
One year later
A version of Drake resembling his original incarnation appears in "The Lightning Saga" crossover in Justice Society of America (vol. 3) and Justice League of America (vol. 2), unwillingly masquerading as a statue in the Fortress of Solitude. He reveals that his containment suit is actually the Red Tornado's robotic shell and indicates that he has at least some of the Red Tornado's memories.
By the end of Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds, this version of Drake has finally entered into a relationship with Dawnstar.
The New 52
In The New 52, Wildfire, along with Dawnstar, Chameleon Girl, Tellus, Tyroc, Gates, and Timber Wolf are all stranded in the 21st century after apprehending a time-travelling terrorist. This new series, also titled Legion Lost ran for 16 issues and dealt with the characters' feelings of being trapped in a (to them) primitive society and having to fit in while not changing their future. In this version Wildfire wore a more armor-like suit of red & black instead of the original orange and red.
In the Future's End: 5 Years Later event, he is revealed to have joined, and left, the Justice League.
In the "Watchmen" sequel "Doomsday Clock", Wildfire is among the Legion of Super-Heroes members that appear in the present after Doctor Manhattan undid the experiment that erased the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Justice Society of America.
Powers and abilities
Unique physiology: A being of pure anti-matter energy, Wildfire possessed a variety of superhuman abilities. Wildfire no longer has a physical body, however his essence must be contained within a specially designed suit.
Superhuman strength: Wildfire possessed a strength level many times greater than that of the average human.
Energy projection: Wildfire could produce concentrated blasts of pure energy for offensive attack.
Energy absorption: As such, he could also absorb large amounts of energy, without any undue stress to his form.
Flight: Wildfire could travel at faster than light speeds without the aid of external applications.
Invulnerability: Although Wildfire's containment suit can be destroyed, his energy body is virtually invulnerable and can only be dispersed under the most extreme of conditions.
X-Ray vision: Like his teammate, Superboy, Wildfire possessed the ability to see through varying layers of solid objects.
Energy construct creation: Another application of Wildfire's energy projection, was the ability to generate simple hard-light constructs. The properties of this ability are similar to that produced by a Green Lantern Ring, but Wildfire can only create simple geometric constructs.
Size alteration: Wildfire could expand his mass and volume several times greater than normal, allowing him to achieve heights similar to that of Colossal Boy. In contrast, he could compact the density of his molecular structure to assume a miniaturized form, similar to that of teammate Shrinking Violet.
Equipment
As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, he is provided a Legion Flight Ring. It allows him to fly and protects him from the vacuum of space and other dangerous environments.
Other versions
A version of Drake appeared in Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #7, under the Legends of the Dead Earth banner. This Drake claims to be the last living Legionnaire from the long dead planet Earth, his energy powers having rendered him immortal. Drake's origin is much the same as his original counterpart. While the book implied that this was the future of the post-Zero Hour Legion, Drake's backstory conflicts too greatly with that of the version of Wildfire that was introduced in later in the series, along with certain elements that never occurred in the main series, such as the introduction of Quislet and Reflecto, and a new character called Galaxy Girl, into the Legion. This Drake has led various teams of Legionnaires in battle against a group of terrorists who have been blowing up stars and planets to keep the rest of the universe separated from one another, but the members he recruits continue to die on their missions because of their prejudices. The only three surviving members who still aid him are Rimborians, Gizi and Ziga, and an alien named Membrain. Drake, up until that point, suffered some memory loss, and by undergoing sensory deprivation and having them restored, he decided to recruit teenagers. This is a successful move, as his new team is able to stop the terrorist group, revealed to be Durlans, from destroying any more stars and move on to help reunite the universe as the United Planets.
A version of Drake called Erg plays a Tin Woodman-esque role in Legion of Super-Heroes Annual #5, The Long Road Home. The story was released under the Elseworlds banner.
An ancestor of Dawnstar, known as Wildstar is a member of the 21st century hero team R.E.B.E.L.S. She has the combined powers of Dawnstar and Wildfire.
In other media
Wildfire makes a cameo appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Far From Home" as one of several Legionnaires mind-controlled by the Fatal Five.
Wildfire makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Legion of Super Heroes (2006). According to producer James Tucker, he would have had a more prominent role in the cancelled third season, replacing Kell-El / Superman X as a member of the Legion.
Wildfire makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Legion of Super-Heroes (2023).
References
Comics characters introduced in 1973
DC Comics aliens
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
DC Comics extraterrestrial superheroes
DC Comics superheroes
Characters created by Dave Cockrum |
2555643 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave%20Creek%20Complex%20Wildfire | Cave Creek Complex Wildfire | The Cave Creek Complex Wildfire was the third largest forest fire in the state of Arizona to date, after the Rodeo–Chediski Fire and Wallow Fire.
History
The fire started on June 21, 2005, by a lightning strike and scorched .
Within an hour, the fire had already burned from .
When news agencies were covering the story, a FOX news affiliate captured video of the historic Cave Creek Mistress mine destroyed by the fire as soon as the fire touched it. The mine was a total loss.
The largest recorded saguaro cactus — standing at 46 feet tall and having a base circumference of 7 feet, 10 inches — was also injured in this fire, and later collapsed.
Bibliography
(2005). "FEMA Authorizes Funds To Help Arizona Fight Cave Creek Complex." FEMA.gov. Retrieved September 8.
(2005). "Crews Work to Turn Arizona Wildfire Away From Homes." Los Angeles Times. June 24.
(2005). "Western Flames." FOXNews. Retrieved September 8, 2007.
References
External links
Incident report, last update (July 14, 2005)
2005 in Arizona
2005 wildfires in the United States
Wildfires in Arizona |
3562363 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas%E2%80%93Oklahoma%20wildfires%20of%202005%E2%80%9306 | Texas–Oklahoma wildfires of 2005–06 | The Texas-Oklahoma wildfires of 2005–06 were a series of wildfires, primarily in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, that began November 27, 2005 and continued into April 2006. Surrounding states were also affected to a lesser extent.
The fires were triggered by a combination of record-high temperatures, drought, and high winds in the region. The situation was exacerbated, at least in Texas, by plentiful rains in recent years. The rains encouraged vegetation growth, which then dried out over the winter drought leaving more potential fuel. The unusually dry conditions have been attributed to La Niña. At Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, only of rain fell in the first two months of the year. On January 1, fires continued to develop throughout the two states. By January 3, many of the fires were reported to be under control; but outbreaks continued through January, February, and March.
In Texas, 12 people were killed. Eight Texas towns were evacuated in March 2006. From December 26, 2005, to April 3, 2006, Texas suffered 11,048 wildfires which burned and destroyed 423 homes. In Oklahoma, 869 homes were damaged; 300 of them were destroyed. As of April 5, 2006, there had been over 22,564 wildfires across the country in the year to date, burning .
Texas governor Rick Perry declared the entire state a disaster area, describing it as a "tinderbox", and called for firefighters and fire equipment to combat the blazes. In addition, the governor of Oklahoma, Brad Henry, declared a disaster and pleaded for federal aid. On January 10, President Bush declared several Oklahoma counties to be disaster areas; the list was amended to include 26 counties by late March.
Heavy rains in late March promised at least temporary relief to the affected areas. Governor Henry lifted the burn ban (which had been instated in November) throughout Oklahoma on March 22, but reinstated it for most counties only five days later, on March 27. Much of Texas was also placed under a burn ban.
Selected major fires
Callisburg, Texas
A fire in a rural area in Callisburg and Walnut Bend, near the Oklahoma border in Cooke County, was still burning on December 29. There were at least 10 to 30 buildings destroyed, plus more outbuildings. At least of land were scorched. One person was killed in the area due to the fires.
Cross Plains, Texas
On December 27, 2005, 116 homes were destroyed by a large fire in and around Cross Plains. On December 29, 2005, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) listed 85 single-family homes, 25 mobile homes and six apartment units as being destroyed. An additional 36 homes were damaged. The 120-year-old First United Methodist Church of Cross Plains was also destroyed. Two people died after being trapped in their houses.
The fire started west of the city along Highway 36 and westerly winds of up to spread the flames into town burning a total of of land. The fire spared the near-century-old house (now a museum) of Robert E. Howard, author of the Conan the Barbarian books.
Mustang, Oklahoma
Several houses were burned in the area of Mustang, just outside Oklahoma City in Canadian County. The cause was unknown, but several houses were burned by the flames. At least of land were scorched.
Guthrie, Oklahoma
On the evening of January 1, a major fire developed in a suburban area near Guthrie (near Oklahoma City). Many buildings—presumably single-family homes—were burned, according to television coverage. Two neighborhoods were evacuated.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Fires broke out intermittently within city limits. One grass fire early in January received national attention as it consumed several buildings. On April 6 and April 7, high winds with gusts of 40-50 mph created high potential for dangerous fires. At least 18 fires developed in Oklahoma City on these days. Outbreaks also occurred in the Texas Panhandle and elsewhere in Oklahoma, burning six homes in Kingfisher and forcing the evacuation of Cement, Reydon, and Cheyenne. Part of Oklahoma City was evacuated on April 7 when a fire from the previous day was revived by high winds.
References
External links
Storm Prediction Center: Fire Weather
FEMA: Texas Extreme Wildfire Threat
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Fires in Oklahoma
Wildfires, 2005
2005-06
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Wildfires, Texas-Oklahoma
Texas-Oklahoma
Texas-Oklahoma |
3669730 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire%20%282005%20TV%20series%29 | Wildfire (2005 TV series) | Wildfire is an American television series that aired on ABC Family from June 2005 to May 2008. The show was produced by Lionsgate Television, Piller², and The Segan Company (Michael Piller would later merge Piller² and The Segan Company into Piller/Segan to produce Greek). The show premiered on June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended on May 16, 2008, due to low ratings. Season one averaged just over a million weekly viewers and season two increased to 1.56 million, an increase of over 50%. Season three dropped back to the first year's numbers. The theme song is "Morning Light" sung by Truman.
Plot
Wildfire follows troubled Kris Furillo who, after serving time at a teen detention center, is given the opportunity to start a new life. Her talent with horses is recognized by a volunteer and local trainer Pablo, who arranges a job for her at the Ritter's family-run ranch, Raintree. Thrown into a completely new environment, Kris must learn to deal with the challenges of fitting in, and forming fiery relationships, while trying not to disappoint the one family willing to give her a chance. The Ritters are facing challenges of their own even as they reach out to help Kris. Patriarch Henry Ritter and his daughter Jean are in a critical stage of their battle to save the ranch from financial ruin. Kris and Wildfire must help them get back on the map in the world of horse racing.
Characters
Kristine "Kris" Furillo-Davis (Genevieve Cortese) A jockey who previously served time at Camp LaGrange, a correctional facility, for grand theft auto. She shares a special bond with Wildfire, a horse she saved from going to slaughter and helped turn into a champion racehorse. At one point, she was involved with her agent, Kerry Connelly, until he slept with Gillian, his ex-girlfriend. Kris spent most of the show in an on-and-off relationship with Junior Davis, until she pursued a brief but passionate fling with Matt Ritter in Season 3. She then proceeded to marry Junior in the series finale.
Matthew "Matt" Ritter (Micah Alberti) The son of Jean and Pete Ritter and the older brother of Todd Ritter. In Season 3 he becomes the co-owner of Raintree Farm along with his mother, inheriting his half of the farm's ownership when his grandfather (Jean's father), Henry Ritter, died. Early on, Matt wanted nothing to do with the "family business" of horses and racing, but came to discover he had a talent for training and conditioning Thoroughbreds and eventually took over as Raintree's head trainer.
Kenneth "Junior" Walter Davis Jr. (Ryan Sypek) The son of Ken Davis and Isabelle Matiya Ferris, and older half-brother to Dani. A very indecisive young man, he has gotten into gambling, owned a night club (which he lost in a bet with his former bookie, Bobby), dabbled in the sport of professional bull riding, and been involved on and off in the running of Davis Farms throughout the series. At one point he sold most of his shares of the farm and regretted it. Even though Junior tries his hardest to break away from the "rich kid" stereotype, he loves his Porsche convertible. Junior spent most of the series in an on-again, off-again relationship with Kris, eventually marrying her in the series finale.
Danielle "Dani" Davis (Nicole Tubiola) Daughter of Ken Davis and an unseen woman named Marisol deEsquvala, and younger half-sister of Junior. Dani started off being openly snobby, promiscuous, and catty but later became more likeable. She took over the running of Davis Farms after her father was indicted on fraud charges but signed her shares of the farm over to Junior after losing her racing license at the end of season three. In Season 4 she also runs her own veterinary clinic.
Kenneth "Ken" Walter Davis Sr. (James Read) Father of Junior and Dani. He ran Davis Farms until being indicted on six counts of fraud, which forced him to leave Davis Farms and his assets to his children and, in a series of events, caused him to lose his role as majority shareholder to Dani. After being acquitted of all the charges, Ken bought back 46% of Davis Farms. Out of all the romantic relationships that Junior and Dani ever had, the only one that Ken did not hate was Junior's relationship with Laura Nichols, the daughter of a congressman.
Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor) Matt and Todd's mother and the co-owner of Raintree Farm. Jean is reluctant to let Kris work at Raintree at first, but eventually grows to think of her as a daughter; in season three she often bumped heads with Kris and her son, Matt, over Wildfire's training and how Raintree should be run.
Pablo Betart (Greg Serano) An ex-convict and respected horseman. Pablo discovered Kris's talent for horses and riding while working as a volunteer trainer at Camp LaGrange and brought her to work for the Ritters. He is co-owner of Wildfire with Jean Ritter and her son, Matt, and Raintree's head trainer for most of the series.
Henry Ritter (Dennis Weaver) Henry is Jean's father, Todd's and Matt's grandfather and Pete's former father-in-law. At the beginning of the series he is shown to be a very quick-spoken, warm person. He dislikes his daughter's relationship with Ken Davis and does not like his children Dani or Junior either. He also shows that he likes Kris and helps her out as often as he can. He confronts Matt about his gambling and forces him to tell his mother, both of whom are furious with Matt. Shortly after, he disappears from the show and later in the series is mentioned dead, probably due to the 2006 passing away of Weaver, leaving a will handing over half of Raintree to Jean and the other half to Matt after he 'figures' out an Andalusian horse which he also left in his will for Matt.
Tina Sharp (Amy Jo Johnson) A hotshot jockey brought in by Jean and Pablo to ride Wildfire in The Sandpiper Classic, a major race. A very sweet, flirty girl, no one but Pablo suspected that she was bad news until she accepted an offer from Ken to ride Avatar, one of his best horses against Wildfire. She also had a fling with Matt at the end of season one and indicated that she had a fling with Pablo in the past.
Gillian Parsons (Charlotte Salt) A wealthy heiress who came to Dani's rescue when she needed money to save Davis Farms while Ken was in jail. She also came in as the ex-girlfriend of Kerry Conelly and slept with him while she was dating Matt. She gave up control of Davis Farms in order to keep her affair secret. However, Gillian comes clean after Matt has an affair with Kris and breaks up with Gillian. She then has a brief almost-fling with Junior before she goes back to England.
Kerry Connelly (Kieren Hutchison) A sports agent who signed on to represent Kris as her career started to take off. He did not mention his long-distance relationship with Gillian until after she walked in on him making out with Kris at the Davis charity ball and then proceeded to sleep with Gillian in order to get Kris a spot in the Breeders Invitational.
Todd Ritter (Andrew Hoeft) The quirky, wise-beyond-his-years son of Jean, and Matt's younger brother. He is in junior high and lives at Raintree Farm for the first three seasons and then goes away to boarding school.
Sheik Omar Al Sayed (Maurizio Rasti) He and his brother are very powerful players in the racing world. He purchases the best horses to race. He originally came to Raintree to see if Wildfire qualified to race in the Gold Cup, then returned wanting to purchase Wildfire. Later on, he came back to town to host the Bristol Stakes and had a brief flirtation with Dani. She did not reciprocate the feelings because she was still hung up on RJ. He then proceeded to organize an illegal match race between Raintree and Davis Farms with a purse of two million dollars, with some of his investors. He is not heard from again after the season three finale.
RJ Blake (Eric Winter) : A bull rider who became friends with Junior after he sees a kindred passion for riding bulls. He also starts a flirtation with his sister, Dani, and later ends up falling in love with her. He is killed in the episode "Heartless" and fans were devastated.
Guest cast and characters
Episodes
Home releases
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released all four seasons on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 1-3 have been released on DVD from Lionsgate. Season 4 has not been officially released by Lionsgate. The 4th season is available from Amazon on DVD-R manufactured from their Prime Videos. From the Amazon listing for season four on DVD: When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
References
2000s American teen drama television series
2005 American television series debuts
2008 American television series endings
ABC Family original programming
Television shows set in New Mexico
Television series by Lionsgate Television
Television shows filmed in New Mexico
Television shows set in California
Television series about families
Television series about horses
Television series created by Michael Piller |
3814278 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire%20%281986%20TV%20series%29 | Wildfire (1986 TV series) | Wildfire is a 1986 American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera about the adventures of Sara, a 13-year-old girl growing up in the American West as she discovers her true identity as a princess-in-hiding from another realm who is destined to fight the evil witch Lady Diabolyn. The show was first broadcast on CBS for 13 episodes from September 13 to December 6, 1986.
Plot
As a baby, Princess Sara (voiced by Georgi Irene) of Thurinia was saved from the clutches of the evil Lady Diabolyn (voiced by Jessica Walter) by a mystical talking horse named Wildfire (voiced by John Vernon) following the death of Sara's mother Queen Sarana (voiced by Amanda McBroom). Wildfire took her away from the planet Dar-Shan and deposited her in Montana where she is taken in by a farmer named John Cavanaugh (voiced by David Ackroyd). Lady Diabolyn was a stepsister to Queen Sarana, whom she always considered weak and unfit to rule. To gain her "rightful" throne, she learned dark magic and allied herself with the demonic Spectres.
Twelve years later when Sara was ready to fight evil, Wildfire brought her back to Dar-Shan to regain her kingdom. Wildfire summons Sara through her magic amulet and transports her across dimensions to her real home in Dar-Shan. Sara joins with her friends consisting of a sorcerer named Alvinar (voiced by René Auberjonois), a young boy named Dorin (voiced by Bobby Jacoby), and his cowardly colt Brutus (voiced by Susan Blu) in order to thwart her wicked step-aunt. John and Sara's Native American friend Ellen Crow (voiced by Lilly Moon) provide moral support on Earth.
Lady Diabolyn is helped by the Goons, mischievous creatures consisting of Dweedle (voiced by Billy Barty), Nerts, Booper, Mudlusk (voiced by Frank Welker), and Thimble. They were formerly Diabolyn's personal guards until they gained their monstrous appearances by the Spectres upon opening the urn containing them when Diabolyn told them not to.
Each episode revealed more and more of the mythical world of Dar-Shan and gave its audience a new puzzle piece to help reason out the past events that led up to the current state of affairs. It was later revealed that Sara's adopted father John was actually her biological father Prince Cavan sent to Earth to protect him from the curse which Lady Diabolyn and the Spectres had placed on Dar-Shan. Sara and Wildfire are the only ones who know John's true identity which has been kept secret even from him.
Episodes
Voice cast
David Ackroyd as John Cavanaugh / Prince Cavan
René Auberjonois as Alvinar
Billy Barty as Dweedle
Susan Blu as Brutus
Townsend Coleman as Goon
Georgi Irene as Princess Sara
Bobby Jacoby as Dorin
Lilly Moon as Ellen
Rob Paulsen as Goon
John Vernon as Wildfire
Jessica Walter as Lady Diabolyn
Frank Welker as Mudlusk
Additional voices
Remy Auberjonois
Victoria Carroll - Mrs. Ashworth
Louise Chamis - Stubb's Mom (in "Dragons of Dar-Shan")
Philip Clarke - Lord Samson
Gino Conforti
Keene Curtis - Mr. Specs (in "Where the Dreams Come From")
Jennifer Darling
Jerry Dexter
George DiCenzo - Aragon (in "The Highwayman")
Paul Eiding
Dick Erdman
Bernard Erhard - Rothadode (in "Wildfire: King of the Horses")
Melanie Gaffin
Dick Gautier
Barbara Goodson - Nerissa (in "The Name is the Game")
Scott Grimes
Noah Hathaway
Darryl Hickman
Laura Jacoby
Lauri Johnson
Aron Kincaid
Ron Leibman
Marilyn Lightstone - Jude (in "Secret of Sinti Magic")
June Lockhart - Vesta
Kenneth Mars
Janet May
Amanda McBroom - Queen Sarana (in "A Meeting in Time")
Marissa Mendenhall
Michael Mish
Daniel O'Herlihy - Jovar
Diane Pershing - Lady Aura (in "Strangers in the Night")
Brock Peters - Thunderbolt (in "Wildfire: King of the Horses")
Peter Renaday
Peter Mark Richman
Bob Ridgely
Josh Rodine - Stubb (in "Dragons of Dar-Shan")
Roger Rose - Halavax (in "The Highwayman")
Neilson Ross
Will Ryan
William Schallert
Brandon Stewart
Alexandra Stoddart - Sheriel (in "The Ogre's Bride")
Andre Stojka
Jeffrey Tambor - Oberon (in "A Visit to Wonderland")
Les Tremayne - Bildad (in "Dragons of Dar-Shan")
Ginny Tyler
Ted Zeigler
Reception
According to the Los Angeles Times, "despite the hackneyed writing and poor animation (the artists don't understand how a horse moves), Wildfire is sure to be a hit with little girls, its obvious audience".
References
External links
1980s American animated television series
1986 American television series debuts
1986 American television series endings
1980s American science fiction television series
American children's animated action television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated science fantasy television series
CBS original programming
Animated television series about horses
Hanna-Barbera superheroes
Television series by Hanna-Barbera
Television shows set in Montana |
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