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Wildfire razes Canadian town Ottawa (AFP) May 16, 2011 A wildfire engulfed the town of Slave Lake in western Canada, forcing the evacuation of its 7,000 residents at the start of the forest fire season, authorities said Monday. Two fires had razed 2,900 hectares of nearby forests before suddenly shifting towards the town and three others in the vicinity that are now threatened. "We didn't have any warning of how quickly the fire could spread," Slave Lake mayor Karine Pillay-Kinnee told public broadcaster CBC. "We had substantial gusts of wind that transferred the fire across highways quickly into the town." Many homes and buildings have been razed to the ground. Television images showed rows of buildings engulfed in flames as 1,000 firefighters battled the blazes, trying to save what little remains of the town located 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Edmonton, Alberta. Authorities said there are 116 fires burning in the province, including 39 that are out of control.
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Repeat of Russia's catastrophic wildfires likely: Greenpeace Moscow (AFP) May 13, 2011 Russia could again choke in catastrophic wildfires this summer because the authorities are reacting too slowly to the growing threat, environmental campaigners Greenpeace warned Friday. "The fires in the forests and peat bogs have started earlier and are more dangerous than last year," said Alexei Yaroshenko, head of Greenpeace Russia's forest programme, at a news conference. Every summ ... read more |
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