Fire crews hold two blazes as Lala leaves outages in Hawaii
Firefighters worked to contain a 3,000-hectare blaze in eastern Belgium and a second-day fire on Skyros, while Hurricane Lala left more than 20,000 outages on Hawaii's Big Island. Emergency response continued after the immediate danger shifted.
Science··Morning
Belgium holds a 3,000-hectare fire short of Germany
In eastern Belgium's High Fens park, a fire that broke out two days earlier had passed 3,000 hectares and was creeping toward the German border. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said two fronts heading for Jalhay and Monschau had been brought under control, yet ground crews still refused to call the blaze finished. Area firefighting chief Luc Burette warned that if the fire could not be contained it risked spilling into Germany. Firefighter Gregory Melotte, on his third shift, described the work of keeping flames out of the tall fir trees while stressing that the fire was not yet under control. Water-bombing aircraft from Sweden, Chinook helicopters from the Netherlands and Belgium, and Belgian and German firefighters worked the ground and the air. Farmers joined with tractors drawing water from a nearby lake; hotel manager Jean-Pierre Robert counted about 15 tractors queuing to fill tanks. Cross-border help and local water hauls kept pressure on a fire that remained large enough to threaten the German line if it slipped.[1]
Skyros fights a second day amid 34 national fires
On the Aegean island of Skyros, about 110 km northeast of Athens, firefighters faced a second day of forest fire. About 100 firefighters and close to 12 aircraft and helicopters were assigned; two small communities had been evacuated, and as of Sunday no inhabited areas were under immediate threat. Mayor Kyriakos Antonopoulos said he believed the fire could be fully extinguished within the day, while Kostas Tsigas, president of the Fire Service Officers Association, pressed crews to act quickly. Strong overnight winds had limited water bombers until they eased at daybreak. Greece counted 34 fires in 24 hours. Strong winds and drought have fed this summer's blazes; about 20,000 hectares have burned in major fires this year, and five firefighters have died in recent operations. The national picture sits beside the island fight: a dense burst of ignitions rather than a single remote event, with tourist-season islands and mainland zones both on the map.[2]
Lala leaves outages as emergency tempo continues
Across the Pacific, Hurricane Lala, a Category 1 storm with winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour, was pulling away from Hawaii's Big Island. More than 20,000 power outages were reported on Saturday afternoon. The National Hurricane Center said damaging winds would persist overnight on the Big Island, strongest on higher terrain, and extended tropical storm warnings to Maui, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau. Storm totals of 76 to 89 centimetres of rain were expected on the island's windward slopes, with flood and landslide risk lasting after the centre moved on. Governor Josh Green proclaimed a state of emergency so counties could clear debris and secure infrastructure. Read side by side with the European fires, the thread is concurrent emergency response under climate-linked heat, drought and wind stress: crews holding a 3,000-hectare Belgian front short of Germany, a second-day fight on Skyros amid 34 national fires in 24 hours, and Hawaiian utilities and residents absorbing outages while warnings stayed live. The immediate danger shifted place by place, but the operational tempo did not.[1], [2], [3]
