Fire continues to rage at scrap yard in Gravesend
The fire service is using a high-volume pump to take water from the nearby estuary to tackle the fire.Jim Chaston, from KFRS, said: "We working really hard, with great help from the on-site staff using their heavy machinery, to work our way into the hotspots."Mr Chaston said he expects crews to remain at the scrap yard until "at least tomorrow"."From there, it's really about how quickly we can work our way into the pile," he said.The cause of the fire is currently unknown, Mr Jones added.
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The Guardian
37 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Marseille fire forces hundreds to evacuate, destroys homes and grounds flights
A fast-moving wildfire on the outskirts of France's second-largest city, Marseille, has destroyed homes and forced hundreds of people to evacuate, as a heatwave and dangerous fire conditions grip the Mediterranean. Interior minister Bruno Retailleau said the fire around Marseille could be contained overnight if the gale-force winds fanning the flames weaken, as expected. So far, 400 people had been evacuated, around a dozen houses destroyed and 63 others damaged, he said. He added about 100 people had also suffered light injuries, including from emergency services. 'At the moment that I speak to you there are no deaths, which is remarkable given the extent of the fires,' he said on Tuesday evening as he visited firefighters in the region. 'But there are all the reasons to think we are headed towards a summer of high risk.' Local media reported that the cause appeared to have been a vehicle that caught fire on the A552 motorway. The climate crisis is creating conditions that allow such fires to burn faster, more intensely and over larger areas. The fire has brought many of the city's services to a halt. Marseille airport cancelled all flights, train services to and from the north and north-west of the city were suspended, two motorways, main roads and several road tunnels in the city were closed, and many bus services cancelled, authorities said. Departures to Brussels, Munich and Naples were cancelled, with incoming flights diverted to nearby airports, including Nice and Nimes. Marseille is France's second largest regional airport, handling nearly 11 million passengers last year. Earlier, the regional prefect, Georges-François Leclerc told reporters that the blaze was not yet contained but the situation appeared to be 'under control'. 'The instructions are simple: have confidence in firefighters, let emergency services do their job, and stay indoors,' he said. 'Firefighters are defending the city.' Fanned by winds reaching 100km/h, the fire filled downtown Marseille with acrid smoke and flying cinders. Videos from the central Old Port area showed large plumes of smoke billowing over the city. About 450 people were evacuated, Marseille city hall said. It urged residents closest to the blaze, especially in the northern 15th and 16th arrondissements, to 'stay inside so as to avoid any exposure to smoke' from the fire. Four sports halls in the city were opened to accommodate any more evacuees. 'You can feel it, you can see it and you can smell it,' Vanessa, a 16th arrondissement resident, told BFMTV. 'It's horrific. We're all frightened. It's a catastrophe, you can't even put your nose outside the front door – in Marseille!' City hall said 720 firefighters, including dozens from neighbouring departments, were battling the blaze with 220 emergency vehicles, helped by helicopters and water-bombing planes. About 350 hectares of land had been consumed by late afternoon. Local authorities said 20 houses had been destroyed, including several within the city limits. Nine firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation and four residents had been hospitalised in 'relatively urgent' circumstances. The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, congratulated the city's firefighters 'who have so far saved several hundred houses'. A major hospital to the north of the city had switched to emergency generators 'as a precaution' but was safe, he added. 'As we speak, it's a battle,' Payan said, likening tackling the wildfire to 'guerrilla warfare'. He added: 'We're waiting to see what happens overnight, because that's critical too. Everything is strategic: wind speed, humidity, nightfall … It's extremely complex.' The prefecture of the Provence-Alpes-Côtes d'Azur region issued multiple mobile phone alerts urging inhabitants to also close their doors and shutters, hang wet laundry around openings, and keep all roads clear for emergency services. Three southern French departments, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse, are on red fire alert. Many of the region's forests have been closed and barbecues and cigarettes banned near wooded areas. The Mediterranean is one of the most vulnerable regions to worsening extreme heat fuelled by climate change, and much of the region is experiencing heatwaves and wildfires. In north-eastern Spain, firefighters continued to battle a wildfire in the Catalan province of Tarragona that has burned through more than 3,100 hectares of forest, farm and urban land, and confined 18,000 people indoors. Syria on Tuesday appealed for help from the EU in battling wildfires that have been blazing for six days, sweeping through a vast expanse of forest. Neighbouring Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist. With Agence France-Presse
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dozens hurt as wildfires bear down on Marseille: Mayor calls for lockdown after looting breaks out as inferno razes homes and cars as it races towards city centre
Hundreds of firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire that reached the outskirts of Marseille on Tuesday, prompting the mayor to call for a temporary lockdown after 100 were left injured. Aided by firefighting helicopters and aircraft, the firefighters had the blaze under control by evening, officials said, but a forecast of more strong winds meant it might yet advance further towards France 's second most populous city. Some 110 people have been injured, as well as nine firefighters, BBC reports. The city's mayor Benoit Payan called for a small lockdown to make room for emergency services to tackle the blaze. Meanwhile, there have been reports of looting in evacuated properties in the Estaque neighbourhood in the north of Marseille, French media outlet Frontiere reports. The fire, fanned by winds of up to 43 mph, could be smelt in the centre of Marseille as thick clouds of smoke hovered over the city on the Mediterranean coast. 'It's very striking - apocalyptic even,' said Monique Baillard, a resident of Les Pennes-Mirabeau, the town north of Marseille where officials said the fire started on a highway, roaring across 860 acres by the afternoon. It sent plumes of acrid smoke billowing into the sky, causing the airport to close its runways shortly after midday and cancel at least 10 flights, a spokesman for the Marseille Provence airport said. The air hub's website showed departures - including to Brussels, Munich and Naples - had been called off. The fire has burnt through 1,730 acres and was considered to be under control even though it is still burning, regional prefect Georges-Francois Leclerc said. About 20 buildings have been at least partly hit by the fire but no fatalities have been reported and hundreds of homes have been saved by firefighters, he said. Over 700 firefighters were battling the blaze, aided by firefighting helicopters and aircraft. Live TV footage showed light smoke giving the sky over Marseille's old port a dusty aspect as water-dropping plane tried to extinguish the fire in the outskirts of the city with some 900,000 inhabitants. Wildfires, which have become more destructive in Mediterranean countries in recent years and attributed to climate change, were also raging in northeastern Spain, where large parts of the country were on high alert for fires. There were also fires last week on the Greek island of Crete and in Athens, as much of Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave. As the fire was spreading, residents of Marseille received official alerts on their phones telling them to stay at home and put damp cloths on any openings. 'As we speak, it's a battle,' Payan said, likening tackling the wildfire to 'guerrilla warfare'. 'We're waiting to see what happens overnight, because that's critical too. Everything is strategic: wind speed, humidity, nightfall — every factor matters. Once again, it's extremely complex, and the work is incredibly difficult.' Two residents of the 16th borough, in the north of Marseille, near where the fire started, described how scared they had been. 'It was dangerous, a lot of very dark smoke, we were really afraid. Police and firefighters did a great job,' said one resident, who did not give his name and said things now looked under control in his neighbourhood. Residents were told not to evacuate unless ordered so that roads could be left clear for rescue services. 'At this stage, populations must remain confined,' the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur prefecture posted on X. 'Close shutters, doors, keep your property clear for emergency services, and do not travel on the roads.' Anne, a 51-year-old woman who works in Marseille and lives on the outskirts, said by phone: 'The sky is grey with ash, and the smell of fire is very strong in the centre of Marseille.' In the coastal neighbourhood of l'Estaque, restaurant owner Simon Epenmbia said he was huddling in the restaurant with his family and neighbours. 'We are relatively close to the sea, where we feel safer for now and there is less smoke,' he said. 'I also saw other people who came here towards the beach and are sheltering in their cars.' A spokesperson for Marseille airport, France's fourth-busiest, said planes had not been taking off or landing since around midday and some flights had been diverted to Nice, Nimes and other regional airports. It was unclear when it would reopen. Many train lines heading to and from Marseille were suspended. Some roads and highways were also shut. A wildfire that started near Narbonne, in southwestern France, was also still active on Monday. Some 2,000 hectares have burnt there, the local prefecture said. Scientists say human-induced climate change is increasing the intensity, length and frequency of the extreme heat that causes some forest fires.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Increased temperatures harming fish and wildlife in UK's rivers
The UK's hottest and driest spring on record has caused an increased risk to fish and wildlife as it has led to record levels of water pollution in rivers, according to the Angling Trust. With just 14 per cent of the country's rivers in good ecological health, the high temperatures have amplified nitrate and ammonia pollution, showing that global warming is placing 'severe stress' on Britain's waterways. The Angling Trust said that river temperatures in England and Wales between March and June were the hottest since records began three years ago. So far in 2025, the organisation have already recorded 87 fish kills, which refers to a spate of localised deaths, due to pollution, low oxygen and natural factors. They have also confirmed 36 incidents of low flows, which reduces river levels and concentrates pollution, while fish rescues have already been needed on the River Teme at Stanage and River Redlake at Bucknall. All four nations in the UK have recorded their warmest spring since records began in 1884, and has also been recorded as the sixth-driest since 1836 with only a small amount of rainfall in June. The report by the group's Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) found high levels of nitrate pollution, with 53 per cent of samples containing above 5ppm, compared to only a minority of samples in previous years. This is known to fuel the spread of algae, known as algal blooms, which can kill freshwater life. Toxic ammonia levels also hit its highest levels in 2025, with 5.4 per cent of ammonia tests failing to meet good ecological standards, up from 2.2 per cent in 2023. The organisation, which has seen 800 volunteers submit over 10,000 pollution monitoring samples, has said that this combination of record warmth and drought has caused treated sewage, urban discharge and farm runoff to concentrate in rivers. 'These results are a wake-up call to tackle the double impact of river pollution and climate change,' said Stuart Singleton-White, Head of Campaigns at the Angling Trust. 'We urgently need to see much tougher regulation resulting in immediate reductions in river pollution, goals for 2030 are too little too late.' The Environment Agency told The Times: 'We take all reports of environmental pollution seriously. We have expanded where we monitor and expanded the diversity of data we collect in recent years. Last year we collected over 99,000 water quality samples.' It comes as Yorkshire Water announce the first hosepipe ban from Friday, with restrictions on watering the garden, cleaning cars and filling paddling pools as the company aims to conserve water. Customers who ignore the hosepipe ban could face fines of up to £1,000. Experts warn human-caused climate change is driving increasingly extreme weather such as hotter drier summers, and making heatwaves such as those seen recently, which can push up water use just as supplies are scarce, more intense and frequent. A drought was declared by the Environment Agency across Yorkshire in June, while the North West of England entered drought status in May – though the region's water company United Utilities said on Tuesday it had no plans to announce a similar hosepipe ban.
