Fires around the world. Are you impacted?

pdxleaf · Aug 3, 2026

There are fiires burning around the world. We feel helpless just watching them, knowing people's lives are devastated.

I don't have any message. I saw these photos of before and after of the fires currently burning in Spokane, Washington. It feels wrong to not share them.

I hope everyone impacted across the globe will get help with recovery.

Fallout Boy · Aug 4, 2026

own pictures ! (Provence)
2023

(near La Garde Freinet)
2026

(near Brignoles)
noone died ... some damage and evacuations.

last 24h

pdxleaf · Aug 4, 2026

Fallout Boy
own pictures ! (Provence)
2023

(near La Garde Freinet)
2026

(near Brignoles)
noone died ... some damage and evacuations.

last 24h

That's a staggering map.

Fallout Boy · Aug 4, 2026

Some things put into perspective when you have enough information; which, however, doesn't help the people who were harmed.

Ron_W · Aug 4, 2026

And fire isn`t the only issue !
Both in the Netherlands fire ( still 50 km away from me but if it gets an closer i`ll hose it down ) and in France near Bordeaux they spotted WW2 ammunition or bombs left or dropped in those area`s, and Bordeaux already had explosions from it.
Dutch firefighters are now restricted to use open roads only plus air droppings ( no pun ) untill tomorrow morning bomb desposal squads can move in.

calalum · Aug 4, 2026

Was just on a call with a close friend who lost his house last year in the Pacific Palisades fire, but he is starting construction on his new house. Meanwhile, we have a family trip starting in 2 days in Montana which we are likely going to cancel because of smoke from Spokane and elsewhere. Devastating for all who are affected.

Evitzee · Aug 4, 2026

calalum
Was just on a call with a close friend who lost his house last year in the Pacific Palisades fire, but he is starting construction on his new house. Meanwhile, we have a family trip starting in 2 days in Montana which we are likely going to cancel because of smoke from Spokane and elsewhere. Devastating for all who are affected.

We used to spend a month in the Kalispell, MT (Glacier Nat'l Park) area in July or August. But then fires in Canada or Montana would flare up and blanket the area in smoke. Because of that, and the ever increasing crowds, we gave up on that and go elsewhere.

Waltesefalcon · Aug 4, 2026

I'm not, but my son may be. He's a wildland fire fighter with US Fish and Wildlife, so he may soon be sent out.

norwester · Aug 4, 2026

I live in urban Seattle so am not at direct risk of wildfires, but I belong to the "sensitive" group with regards to air quality so when the AQI approaches 100 I stay indoors with multiple HEPA filters running. Right now pretty much every air quality reading in Oregon and Washington east of the cascade crest is red or worse, which means we're at the mercy of the wind direction here on the west side.
In the nineties I would spend the months of July through September climbing peaks in the North Cascades. Even then I noticed that glaciers were much smaller than on the USGS maps from the 70's, and over the course of 10 years I witnessed them shrinking even further. Now those months are typically smoky and dry there (not to mention crowded). It's sobering to witness all these changes in just a portion of my lifespan.

Jetspeed · Aug 4, 2026

I live in Boise, ID and we have been smothered by smoke for weeks. I feel terrible for so many people who have lost everything.

Fallout Boy · Aug 4, 2026

You are also affected by the "cold smoke", the stinking air afterward. From Friday to Saturday it was unbearable here for two hours, but of course not comparable to property damage.

kurtj29 · Aug 4, 2026

norwester
I live in urban Seattle so am not at direct risk of wildfires, but I belong to the "sensitive" group with regards to air quality so when the AQI approaches 100 I stay indoors with multiple HEPA filters running. Right now pretty much every air quality reading in Oregon and Washington east of the cascade crest is red or worse, which means we're at the mercy of the wind direction here on the west side.
In the nineties I would spend the months of July through September climbing peaks in the North Cascades. Even then I noticed that glaciers were much smaller than on the USGS maps from the 70's, and over the course of 10 years I witnessed them shrinking even further. Now those months are typically smoky and dry there (not to mention crowded). It's sobering to witness all these changes in just a portion of my lifespan.

I live outside Seattle, Cliff Mass our famous local U of Washington meteorology professor debunks the climate change angle on our wildfires. (look up his blog) - 80 years of forest mismanagement, the current Democrat state government slashing funding for firefighters and now a lot of arsonists running around in our forests are the main reasons for fires. The fires in Spokane at the top of this thread were started by an arsonist who was arrested yesterday. A person who should be in jail, would have been in jail in the 1990's but now with liberals in charge they let all these criminals out with hardly any time served and put them in homeless camps. The Little Giant fire in Chelan was started by lightning. Chelan has had a big fire about every 5-7 years for the 35 years I have lived in Washington. The last 3 or so years have been below average on the number of acres burned during the summer so this year we are paying for that - lots of fuel stored up in the forests.

Fallout Boy · Aug 4, 2026

exactly! The loss of land due to forest fires has been steadily declining in France for years! The actual problem (huge fire) , especially in the Netherlands, is "near-natural" protected areas with deadwood. So now it burns in a natural way!

Ron_W · Aug 5, 2026

Fallout Boy
exactly! The loss of land due to forest fires has been steadily declining in France for years! The actual problem (huge fire) , especially in the Netherlands, is "near-natural" protected areas with deadwood. So now it burns in a natural way!

Yes, to much pine trees vs leaf trees and undergrowth all burns like petrol because of the above average heat for months now without any rain, which is caused by climate change. Top or Canope pine tree fires are exremely difficult to put out without air support.

A few small ones can be controlled but for the size of fires in France and Spain we dont have enough men or equipment. So buldozering down trees to create fire free lanes is the first act but with possible ammunition laying around a bit dangerous.

Waltesefalcon · Aug 5, 2026

Fallout Boy
exactly! The loss of land due to forest fires has been steadily declining in France for years! The actual problem (huge fire) , especially in the Netherlands, is "near-natural" protected areas with deadwood. So now it burns in a natural way!

Do they not manage the protected areas? One of the big parts of my son's job with USFW is to conduct controlled burns on the local wildlife refuges we have in Oklahoma and Texas. All the current research points to the incredible importance of controlled burns in wildlands.

Fallout Boy · Aug 5, 2026

Here in Provence, that's exactly the dilemma: nature vs. safety. In the protected areas, nature comes first, plus massive prevention with firebreaks and a lot of manpower from the fire department. The closer you get to towns, the more intense the fight becomes with trimming back (laws) and evacuation management.

In the red zone today: no works, no hiking , no trespassing!!

pdxleaf · Aug 5, 2026

kurtj29
Cliff Mass our famous local U of Washington meteorology professor debunks the climate change angle on our wildfires. (look up his blog) - 80 years of forest mismanagement, the current Democrat state government slashing funding for firefighters and now a lot of arsonists running around in our forests are the main reasons for fires. The fires in Spokane at the top of this thread were started by an arsonist who was arrested yesterday.

All part of the picture, although incomplete.
Forest management and lack of funding for firefighters is not simply a one-party fault. The NW and Western states have raised the alarm about not enough firefighters for years. The current national party in control has not only not increased funding for firefighters, but has decreased it.

Part of the reason that the impact of one arsonist was so extreme was due to the conditions, which were made worse due to the vegetation and drought.

Climate theory predicted this scenario decades ago. Higher elevations of carbon in the atmosphere hold more moisture, resulting in less rainful, but also heavier rain when the moisture is eventually released. This pattern results in bursts of growth in ground cover during the wet periods, followed by extreme drying out from the more infrequent rain. This makes kindling, which is easier to light by arsonists and lightning alike.

Add to this warming oceans, changing air streams, and the weather across the globe is changing. It's following the pattern that science predicted.

I don't want to turn this into a climate change debate, except to respond to your suggestion that it is a liberal fantasy.

The sky at 0730 this morning:

Fallout Boy · Aug 5, 2026

pdxleaf
This makes kindling, which is easier to light (...) and lightning alike.

Here in Provence: zero probability. IMO 99.9% human-caused.

Larry S · Aug 5, 2026

Much of July here in the western Great Lakes region was under a heavy blanket of smoke from Canadian fires. Some days were reminiscent of very bad days in China during my business trips there.

kurtj29 · Aug 5, 2026

pdxleaf
All part of the picture, although incomplete.

Well, I don't believe we are having historic wildfires. What we are having is nature coming back after 100 years of aggressive fire suppression. The 1930's were 5X worse than today. And due to that experience we suppressed every fire.

Fires around the world. Are you impacted?

pdxleaf

Fallout Boy

pdxleaf

Fallout Boy

Ron_W

calalum

Evitzee

Waltesefalcon

norwester

Jetspeed

Fallout Boy

kurtj29

Fallout Boy

Ron_W

Waltesefalcon

Fallout Boy

pdxleaf

Fallout Boy

Larry S

kurtj29

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