Fire still spreading. Smaller fire on the edge of lake next to house #Okanagan#BCfire
Home » Posts tagged 'evacuation' (Page 2)
Tag Archives: evacuation
China Blast Zone Evacuated Over Chemical Contamination Fears
China Blast Zone Evacuated Over Chemical Contamination Fears
TIANJIN, China— New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday, where one survivor was pulled out and authorities ordered evacuations within a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius to clean up chemical contamination.
Angry relatives of missing firefighters stormed a government news conference to demand information on their loved ones more than two days after the disaster.
The death toll in Wednesday’s inferno and blasts that devastated industrial and residential zones has climbed to 85, including 21 firefighters — making the disaster the deadliest for Chinese firefighters in more than six decades.
An unknown number of firefighters remain missing, and a total of 720 people have been injured in the rapid succession of explosions that began with a fire at shipping containers containing hazardous material at a warehouse.
Authorities on Saturday pulled out one survivor from a shipping container, the state broadcaster CCTV said. His identity was not immediately known.
The government set up a no-man zone within 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) of the explosions to clean up chemical contamination from sodium cyanide, a toxic chemical that becomes combustible on contact with water or damp air, according to media reports.
Burning flames were spotted on Saturday, and explosions were reported by witnesses and state media.
In one case, heavy smoke from a fire engulfing several cars rose up as high as 10 meters (yards), accompanied by at least five explosions.
Police and military personnel manned checkpoints on roads leading to the blast sites, and helicopters were seen hovering in the overcast sky. The air had a metallic chemical smell, and there was uneasiness over rain forecasts, although it was warm and windy.
Meanwhile, family members of missing firefighters disrupted the latest news conference, demanding to know if their loved ones were still alive.
“(The authorities) didn’t notify us at all,” said Liu Huan, whose son Liu Chuntao, has been missing since late Wednesday. “Our son is a firefighter, and there was a team of firefighters who lost contact, we couldn’t contact him.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
B.C. wildfire forces evacuation near Shelter Cove area of West Kelowna
Darkness preventing helicopter or air tanker support from effectively assisting firefighters
Fire crews and officials scrambled to keep residents safe from a quickly spreading blaze near Westside Road in West Kelowna, B.C., which has so far destroyed at least one home.
The wildfire was sparked by lightning on Sunday afternoon, and had largely died down before erupting again late Monday. It’s now grown to 30 hectares in size, fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions, according to fire officials in the Central Okanagan Regional District.
Dramatic images on social media show it burning down the western slope of Okanagan Lake above Westside Road.
The BC Wildfire Service says the fire is burning at Rank 4, which is described as a vigorous surface fire.
The service says in a release that an evacuation order has been recommended to the Central Okanagan Regional District for approximately 70 properties in the Shelter Cove area.
The district has confirmed to CBC News that it is trying to move people out from residences and properties along Westside Road near Shelter Cove between La Casa and Lake Okanagan Resort.
Alberta forest fire forces evacuation of oilsands facilities
Cenovus and CNRL shut down operations as precautionary move
Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources Limited have evacuated their facilities within the Cold Lake Air Weapons range, close to Alberta’s eastern border, due to an out-of-control forest fire in the area.
“Yesterday, CNRL evacuated their plant facilities in the Primrose area and then, last night at 11 o’clock, we advised Cenovus in Foster Creek that it would be a good precautionary move to evacuate their personnel as well,” said Leslie Lozinski, spokeswoman for the province’s environmental and resource ministry.
Cenovus evacuated their facilities at Foster Creek because the fire threatened the only road out, which would have made any evacuation of the facility difficult.
Rhona Delfrari, spokeswoman for the company, said there were approximately 1,800 staff on site last night before the evacuation started early Saturday morning. By the afternoon, only a handful of staff were left over to shut down the plant before escaping by helicopter.
“As far as we know right now, there is no threat from the fire to our facilities, it was more about the road being blocked off from the fire,” said Delfrari.
Monitoring the situation
CNRL’s operations in the area are closer to the fire.
Scott Stauth, the company’s vice-president for North American operations said they have shut down “almost all of our operations, but we still have our main facility, which is not in the weapons range, we still have it manned and operating.”
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Kitamaat Village evacuated after 3 days without power due to near record snowfall
Kitamaat Village evacuated after 3 days without power due to near record snowfall
Residents had to cut through fallen trees with chainsaws to gain road access
B.C.’s Haisla First Nation ordered the evacuation of Kitamaat Village and its 800 residents on Saturday night, three days after the community lost power following a major snowstorm.
Many residents are staying at the Kitimat Riverlodge Leisure Centre, about 15 kilometres north in the town of Kitimat.
Others are staying with family and friends.
The small towns of Kitimat and Terrace were hit with heavy snow earlier this week — nearly two metres of snow from a Pineapple Express weather system was dumped on the region.
The record for a 24-hour snowfall, set on Feb. 5, 1961, was 112 cm. Weather officials say Kitimat came close with 109 cm of snow in a 24-hour period.
Evacuation ordered over Facebook
In a notice posted to Facebook on Saturday, Haisla First Nation chief councillor Ellis Ross warned of a short timeline for the Sunday morning evacuation — the road in and out of the village would be open for just three hours.
“If you have the means to get to town or somewhere else besides Kitamaat Village, please be gone before 8 a.m. PT. Anytime after 8 a.m., don’t even try. The crews will be working and there will be no traffic allowed,” the notice said.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
