Wildfire Destroys Tens of Buildings in N. Calif

Wildfire destroys or damages Tens of homes, threatens another 300 strucures near Happy Valley

A wildfire in Northern California’s Shasta County has destroyed 80 structures and damaged at least 30, many of them homes, and is threatening another 300 structures near the rural community of Happy Valley, about 150 miles north of Sacramento.

The fast-growing Clover Fire, which began about 13:00 PDT on Monday, had rapidly grown to about 7,400 acres (11.6 square miles) by early morning Tuesday.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for hundreds of homes, and many residents have been advised to leave their homes.

Some 1,129 fire personnel have been deployed, and the fire was 40% contained as of posting. The cause is under investigation, said Cal Fire.

Clover Fire Incident Information [Cal Fire]

Last Updated: September 10, 2013  @ 07:20 PDT
Date/Time Started: September 9, 2013 12:32 pm
Administrative Unit: CAL FIRE Shasta-Trinity Unit
County: Shasta County
Location: off Cloverdale Road, Happy Valley
Acres Burned – Containment: 7,400 acres – 40% contained
Structures Threatened: 300
Structures Destroyed: 80 structures destroyed & 30 structures damaged
Evacuations and Road Closures: Click HERE
Injuries: 4
Cause: Under investigation
Total Fire Personnel: 1129
Total Fire Engines: 107
Total Fire crews: 36
Total Airtankers: 6
Total Dozers: 7
Total Water Tenders: 18

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City Shut Down, Buildings Set Ablaze Amid Fighting in S. Philippines

Zamboanga City shut down as MNLF men attack suburbs

At least a dozen people have been killed and dozens more wounded or trapped as fighting erupted again between Philippine military and Moro National Liberation Front rebels, who were occupying five districts of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

The fatalities include a navy personnel, a policeman and several civilians, said Zamboanga City Mayor.

At least 2 dozen people have been wounded and more than 220 others are trapped, said a report.

Philippine govt has deployed more than 800 troops to Zamboanga city, as deadly clashes between rebels and government forces enter their second day. Image credit: Reuters

Authorities have evacuated more than 600 residents from several villages, while 847 people have fled to other areas.

The Mayor has canceled all school classes in the city, and businesses in the downtown area have been shut down.

Meantime, Philippines Civil Aviation Authority declared the city a “no fly zone” due to the ongoing conflict, said the report.

“Cebu Pacific Air, earlier, canceled its flights to and from the city due to the conflict.”

Thousands Evacuated due to Bushfires in NSW

Bushfires threaten Sydney’s western suburbs

Wildfires destroy homes, injure fire crews and force mass evacuations in west Sydney.

At least 59 bush and grassfires are raging across New South Wales (NSW), including 40 uncontained blazes, with more than 500 firefighters and 200 fire engines on the ground, said NSW Premier.

The fires have forced the authorities to  evacuate scores of homes and a University of Western Sydney (UWS) campus following a power outage that affected the entire Richmond area.

Additionally, more than 300 students from St Paul’s Grammar School In Castlereagh were evacuated to Penrith’s Whitewater Park after an emergency warning was issued for a fire threatening properties on nearby Devlin Street, said a report.

Intense heat from a wildfire sets a truck on fire near Londonderry Road, West Sydney. Photo credit: Nick Moir/ via the Age.

The heat was so intense firefighters were forced to abandon their trucks when they became surrounded by bushfires in Sydney’s western suburbs, said a report.

The bushfire season has come early to Sydney area, with out-of-control fires devouring the city’s west, reports said.

Scores Killed in CAR Clashes

Fighting between armed factions leaves 80 dead, many injured in Central African Republic (CAR)

Renewed fighting follows a U.N. warning that the landlocked central African country was on the brink of collapse.

The latest clashes occurred near Bossangoa about 300 km north of the capital Bangui between fighters loyal to former President Francois Bozize and the ex-rebels who ousted him, reports said.

Renewed fighting in CAR leaves dozens dead, many injured amid worsening humanitarian crisis. The fighting follows a U.N. warning that the country was on the brink of collapse. Photo: UNICEF/Pierre Holtz.

The former rebels who are now in power have been accused by residents, United Nations officials and non-governmental organizations of a wave of killings and abuses, said a report.

“Houses were burnt, people were burnt alive including children, women and old people who had nothing to do with the fighting. It is really disgusting,” said an observer.

CAR is facing a major and multifaceted humanitarian and security crisis exacerbated by a coup d’etat in March 2013, said IRIN.

Human rights abuses such as “arbitrary arrests and detention, sexual violence against women and children, torture, rape, targeted killings, recruitment of child soldiers and attacks”, are becoming ever more common, according to a recent report to the UN Security Council.

The following data illustrates the severity of the situation in CAR

• 4.6 million Central Africans—the country’s entire population —are affected by the crisis

• 1.6 million are in “dire need of assistance”.

• 206,000 people have been internally displaced, many of them living in the bush with little or no access to humanitarian assistance. 100,000 of them are children.

• 60,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, mostly the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• 11,252 refugees live in three camps in CAR, to which aid workers have very limited access.

• 650,000 or more children are unable to attend school.

• 484,000 people (10.5% of the population) are severely food insecure.

• 3,500 children have been recruited into armed groups

• 3,652 military and civilian personnel will make up the African-led International Support Mission in CAR, drawn largely from multinational forces already on the ground under different authorities.

• 13,703 people on antiretroviral drugs are at risks of defaulting on their treatment because of supply chain interruptions.

• Less than 20% of the country’s medical facilities are operational. [Sources: UNOCHA, UNHCR, UN Security Council, Save the Children]