• kite@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Just one of those fires is 600 square miles in size. I can’t even begin to comprehend what that must be like, and I’ve been in a wildfire situation before

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      To me that’s the standout statistic here. I’m a little less sympathetic to “entire cities” with less population than anything I’m familiar with but holy crap …. My small suburb has way over the population of the entire territory but the size of that fire is 46 times the area! Damn

      Actually, I live near Boston and that fire is over 6 times the area of the city.

      Looking farther afield, that fire is twice the area of New York City

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    About 20,000 residents in Yellowknife are being urged to get out of the way of fast-moving flames as more than 230 fires char the territory and smoke creeps south, impacting air quality in the United States.

    One of the wildfires burning west of Yellowknife is approximately 165,000 hectares, more than 600 square miles, and inching closer to the community and main highway, according to Mike Gibbins, who manages communications for Municipal Affairs Minister Shane Thompson’s office.

    Thompson declared an emergency for the entire territory on Tuesday, which will allow officials “to access and deploy resources so that we can continue our work to protect residents and communities in a more efficient manner,” he said.

    Sensitive groups, such as people with lung or heart disease, the elderly and children are urged to avoid prolonged or heavy exertion and the general public is being told to limit outdoor activity.

    In Canada, the Minister of National Defense Bill Blair on Tuesday mobilized the Canadian Armed Forces to provide firefighting personnel, airlift resources, and logistical support to the Northwest Territories.

    “We stand with the people of the Northwest Territories as they experience their worst fire season on record, and I am confident that our military personnel will do their utmost to assist their fellow Canadians,” Blair said in a statement.


    I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • Wakdem@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    As an Australian watching the northern hemisphere lately it’s scary to think our fire season is almost here and we’ve had the right conditions for lots of fuel to grow and die off.

    • Nonameuser678@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      For the first time in my life I’m terrified of what this summer has the potential to be like this year. I’m in QLD and summer is always tough but I’m really worried about how high the temperatures might rise this year.

      • scarrtt@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        European here. A friend of mine bought a house in Cairns a while back. Is it an area that’s known to have problems with wildfires? I realised this is a vague question but she was asking me about whether or not she should sell the house based on the global financial situation, but she never mentioned wildfires. I assume she’s factoring it in based on the insane wildfires you guys had a couple of years back but you can never be sure

        • Nonameuser678@aussie.zone
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          1 year ago

          My family live near Cairns. Typically it would be pretty low risk for fires because it’s very tropical and wet. It will likely get more humid and hot though as temperatures continue to increase. Tell her to go see the reef before that’s gone if she hasn’t already.

        • zik@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Cairns is pretty tropical so it doesn’t get many bushfires. It’s the areas south of there which are drier and tend to burn.

    • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      🤔 So countries like that need some kind of mass irrigation systems to water the forests and fields in the summer to stop wildfires from happening

    • Blastasaurus@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      As an Australian-Canadian, I’ve given up on my dream of moving back to Australia. That country is done. And I say this as someone currently living in Canada.

  • Breezy@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Damn. Thoughts and prayers to all caught in that. On a side note, just played through firewatch today, fun experience game.

    • 999@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Oh, this is such a shit thread to have this conversation, but nevertheless…

      I played Firewatch for a while a couple of years ago and LOVED it. Didn’t finish, not sure what happened but I just never got back to it. I think I’ve forgotten enough of it now that I can go back and start again and have a fresh experience. I’ve recommended this game to a few people and everyone has loved it. Some excellent twists and turns and fun little bits of mystery. Great writing!

      • Breezy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Maaaan dont finish it… just get to day 77 and leave it. The mystery is so much better left unknown. I loved the game, but didnt care for the realistic ending. Idc that there is a secret ending that didnt scratch any itch.

  • AA5B@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I think this is a bigger climate change issue than vast areas of dry brush or woods mire likely to burn ….

    – Forest fires are not new to the area but the increased risk and size are

    – who the f expects wildfires in Hawaii? How does it get dry enough for that to happen?

    – meanwhile I’m sitting here in the Northeast US with so much rain that even with way above average temperatures, my grass is still green and growing like Spring. Usually it goes dormant sometime in July and you don’t have to cut it much anymore (unless you water it) but I’m still more than once per week