Forest fires have burned 600 square miles in Washington

UNDATED Some forest fires are still smoldering, but wildfire officials says this has been the biggest year for fires in Washington since 1994.

Nearly 600 square miles (more than 382-thousand acres) have burned, compared to 90 square miles (58-thousand acres) last year.

It was a hotter, drier summer with a lot of lightning strikes. And some forests were weakened by infestations of pine beetles.

Storms, tornadoes hit Midwest, South; 12 dead

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Stormy weather blamed for 12 deaths in the Midwest and South subsided on Sunday, though residents in some states remained shut out of their homes due to high waters.

Flood warnings remained in effect for parts of Arkansas, Kentucky and Missouri. Many Kentucky roads were still submerged on Sunday, but waters in many areas began to recede.

“It looks like everything’s kind of quieting down, and things are being handled on the local level right now,” said Buddy Rogers, a spokesman for the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management in Frankfort.

“It was almost Katrina-like pretty much,” said Chester Craig, a lieutenant with the Mercer Central Volunteer Fire Department. “There were vehicles underwater and people were walking around in a daze.”

Wildfires spark emergency declaration by California governor

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared an emergency in wildfire-ravaged Ventura County near Los Angeles as a set of blazes scorched the tinder-dry state.

Wind-whipped flames had thus far charred 127,569 acres (51,625 hectares) of mountainous terrain in the Los Padres National Park in what Schwarzenegger referred to as "one of the largest wild-land fires in recent California history."

"Conditions of extreme peril to persons and property exists in Ventura County due to the fires," Schwarzenegger said in his declaration.

"The magnitude of these fires exceeds the capabilities of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of Ventura County."

Australia hit by early bushfires


Australia suffers from annual bushfires

Australian firefighters are battling to limit the damage caused by more than 50 bushfires which broke out around Sydney over the weekend.
Officials said they suspected at least some of the fires, which destroyed seven homes, were started by arsonists.

The fires herald an early start to the annual bushfire season, raising fears that the blazes might be particularly strong this year.

Many of these fires occur naturally, but arson is also a common problem.

Blazes erupted to both the north and south of Sydney on Sunday, fanned by 100 km/h (60 mph) winds and very hot, arid conditions.

Hottest August on record

Bushfires are a regular feature of Australia's summer months, burning thousands of hectares of forests every year.

Scientists warn that Sunday's blazes may forecast problems later in the year, when conditions get hotter, drier and more prone to fires.

"It's a major concern that fire seasons seem to be starting earlier and lasting longer," Kevin O'Loughlin, the head of the Bushfire Co-operative Research Center, told local media.

"We've got to get a greater understanding on this, on the frequency of fires, the earlier start to the season and if there's any connection to climate change," he said.

He added that Australia had reported its hottest, driest August on record this year.

Pakistani protesters burn an effigy of the pope for his alleged disparaging remarks about Islam, on Monday, September 18, in Muzaffarabad. Protesters continued to demand that the pope apologize fully for his remarks on Islam and violence. The placard at right reads "Long live Islam."

More E. coli cases blamed on spinach

WASHINGTON - Two more cases of illness were blamed Sunday on the outbreak of E. coli linked to fresh spinach, raising the number of people sickened to 173, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

Meanwhile, a second bag of spinach contaminated with toxic E.coli bacteria has been found in Utah, and regulators hope it will offer clues about an outbreak that has killed as many as three.

Global temperature highest in millennia

19 killed as heavy rains pound eastern India


A villager wades through the flooded village of Sundarpur, about 160 km (99 miles) north of Kolkata, September 25, 2006. REUTERS/Parth Sanyal (INDIA)

NEW DELHI (AFP) - At least 19 people have died in torrential rains pounding the eastern Indian state of Bihar for the fifth straight day.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoting state officials said four people sheltering behind a brick-and-mortar wall were crushed to death Monday when it collapsed due to the rains in the state's Muzaffarpur town.

An unnamed women and her five children were killed in a similar rain-related accident on Sunday in the state's water-logged Nalanda district, a state administration spokesman said Monday.

Nine others were killed in separate incidents of house collapse and drowning in the past five days in Bihar where non-stop rain since Thursday has inundated large parts of the populous state, PTI added.

The provincial administration Monday shut schools and colleges in the state capital of Patna and in nearby Bhagalpur district because of the blinding downpour, the government spokesman said.

"At least 100 villages in five blocks (counties) are flooded and road networks are on the verge of collapse," an official from the state relief department told reporters in Patna.

Hundreds of people have died across India in floods since the onset of monsoon in June this year.