Southern Europe is not the only one to be the victim of violent fires linked to high temperatures and exceptional droughts. The coldest and most humid regions of the world, less accustomed to this type of phenomenon, are also affected.
In Alaska, for example, wildfires have been especially intense since the beginning of the year, according to reports. The Guardian. American firefighters are currently battling 264 fires across the state. Between the beginning of the year and mid-July, more than 1.2 million hectares have already burned in Alaska. A figure that could exceed the 2004 record, which amounted to 2.6 million hectares burned that summer.
An unprecedented drought
Since the beginning of April, Alaska has suffered more than 500 fires. As of June 15, according to the British newspaper, more than 405,000 hectares had been burned, which is the equivalent of what usually burns during the entire fire season.
A record drought was recorded in Alaska in the months of May and June. “This is unprecedented,” said Rick Thoman, a climate scientist at the International Arctic Research Center (IARC). For him, this high number of fires is due to an explosive cocktail of several elements: “Drought, snow melting ahead of time, winds and lightning have combined to create a difficult start to the season.”
However, cool and rainy weather was reported across much of Alaska last week, according to local media, somewhat calming this disastrous start to the fire season.
As Alaska is a large and sparsely populated US state, the number of evacuations was relatively limited. However, some towns like Anderson, isolated cabins or mining camps were forced to evacuate. At least one house was burned, according to a latest report. authorities report, and four brown bears were killed in a camp reserved for evacuees, according to the ABC channel.
Source: BFM TV
