Latest news with #grassfire
BBC News
17-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Grass fire at Barling Airstrip in Essex extinguished
A large grass fire at an airstrip has been extinguished by Fire Service was called to the site at Barling Magna, near Southend, at 14:17 BST on Tuesday and had put it out by 20: 37 acres (15 hectares) of grassland was alight, with six crews tackling the flames at the height of the returned overnight and in the morning to check for hotspots and carry out damping down. Southend Airport reopens after Sunday's fatal plane crashThe service said an investigation would take place to establish the cause of the fire, near Little Wakering Creek. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBS News
16-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Grass fire in north Sacramento threatens structures, crews say
A grass fire in north Sacramento is threatening multiple structures Wednesday afternoon, firefighters said. The fire broke out on E. Levee Road, south of W. Elverta Road, around 2:15 p.m. The size of the fire is currently unknown at this time. This is developing news. Check back for updates.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
'Unsung heroes' saved homes from Dagenham grass fire
People would have probably lost their homes in Monday's grass fire in Dagenham, east London, were it not for the actions of maintenance workers, according to the council fire broke out behind Clemence Road, which backs on to Beam Parklands, at about 18:30 BST on Monday. The blaze, which covered about eight hectares (20 acres), was tackled by more than 120 and Dagenham Council leader Dominic Twomey said the fire would have spread to homes if maintenance workers - who he described as "unsung heroes" - had not cut fire breaks into the grass over recent saw four wildfires break out over a 24-hour period from Monday into Tuesday. Twomey said: "They very fact that our team – our front-line maintenance team – worked incredibly hard over the last months to put in the fire breaks that were acknowledged by the London Fire Brigade and others that stopped these fires spreading to residents' homes, I think it has to be acknowledged that they are often the unsung heroes."People won't see that, people won't understand that." The council leader said the team's actions were not "by chance" but planned out months in advance and carried out regularly. "They're effective. Without it a number of residents would have probably lost their homes and belongings," he told a council meeting on Fire Brigade borough commander Blake Betts also said the fire breaks had prevented the blaze from spreading further. He told the BBC: "In this instance they've worked really effectively to stop the spread, or control the spread to one particular area."
ABC News
16-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
How Turia Pitt's body image changed in motherhood
Turia Pitt was running an ultramarathon when a grassfire caused burns to 65 per cent of her body. She lost seven fingers and had a long recovery involving more than 200 surgical procedures. Turia had to get used to a completely different body. "I didn't like looking in the mirror. I didn't like when I saw my arms, I saw my legs, because it was so different to what they used to look like," the 37-year-old from Byron Bay/Bundjalung Country says. "When I would get changed, I would shut my eyes so I wouldn't have to see myself." Having children changed that for Turia. Particularly the birth of her second son, which she says helped her focus on what her body can do, rather than what it can't. "I felt like it was transcendent. That I'd accessed all of these generations of ancestors that I have in me. That I was a strong woman. That I was a capable woman. That I could do hard things." Turia says we can all think of things that our body is "shit at", or we don't love. "But I remind myself, your body has given birth to two sons. You've been pregnant with them. You breastfed both of them. "Your arms carry them. Your legs walk them to school. You can hold their little hands, you can brush their hair, you can read them a book, you can make them dinner. ABC podcast Ladies, We Need to Talk spoke with Turia and other women about putting aside the unrelenting "bounce back" beauty standards after birth, and embracing an opportunity to change their relationship with their body instead. When researcher Zali Yager studied how women felt about their bodies after birth, she was surprised to learn those with young kids felt better than women with no children. "We thought that women who had just gone through the process of growing a belly, giving birth, breastfeeding, the whole thing — we thought that they would be the most dissatisfied with their bodies, but actually they were much more likely to be appreciative of their bodies." Dr Yager is the executive director of the Embrace Collective, a charity focused on building better body image. In her research with Victoria University, she found those with young children had less body shame and less self-objectification (thinking of your body as something to be looked at, rather than something that is functioning). "It just seemed to be this protective effect, like 'Oh my gosh, my body has actually done something'." The effect wains, however, as kids grow. "I think the main reason is that, when we've got that tiny baby with us, they're kind of attached to us most of the time, and everyone can see that that might be the reason why your body might be different," Dr Yager says. As time goes on, the pressure to "bounce back" increases. "The whole idea that our body should go back to what it was before going through that enormous process is ludicrous," Dr Yager says. Sophie Walker, founder of the Australian Birth Stories podcast, says being pregnant was the first time she felt she could "let it all hang out". The 44-year-old from Melbourne/Naarm has three sons, aged six, nine and 11. "I'd spent so many years holding my stomach in and trying to squeeze myself into Spanx and things. "I loved that time of … everybody loves you being big." Growing up, Sophie was often bullied in school for her weight. But in motherhood, she has been able to embrace the changes to her body. Including the "intense stretch marks". "[My body] housed these three wild boys. On the odd occasion she does find herself being critical of her body, Sophie says she reminds herself of how many women would want to trade places. "We've just interviewed so many women [on the podcast] that have just strived to become mothers, and they would be so envious to have a deflated belly and saggy boobs right now and a baby that's kept them up all night." Tegan Russell is mum to a four-year-old girl and four-month-old boy. The 38-year-old from Melbourne/Naarm says while her "belly might look a little bigger" than she would like, it was her "baby's house". "And would I take that back? Never in a million years." Tegan says being pregnant was the first time she felt really confident in her body. After birthing her daughter, Tegan says she felt proud of her body. But taking a newborn home in the middle of Melbourne's COVID lockdowns was tough, and Tegan says she had unrealistic expectations about what she should be able to do in those early post-partum days. With her son, though, Tegan made sure to create space to heal and rest. "I really rested as much as I could on the couch and took care of my body, and really tried to respect it as much as I could for what it had done." She even had a post-partum doula come and provide care, including a "closing of the bones" ritual. "For five hours she just absolutely loved on me. She gave me this beautiful massage ... I sat in this gorgeous steam tent that she'd built and had a beautiful herbal bath." Tegan says it felt like the "ultimate kind of feminist act". "We're told, after we have babies, in lots and lots of different ways, about bouncing back. "You know, who can get to the cafe quickest, who can go to the gym quickest, and those things are fine if that's your choice. "But I also think it's important to know that there are other ways and the choice to stay home and to make sure I had this beautiful postpartum care felt like I was really taking something back and saying, 'Actually what I have done is worth this'. "My relationship with my body has gone from seeing it as an ornament to seeing it as an instrument."
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Dagenham: Fire forces residents from their homes
More than 100 firefighters are tackling a grass fire in Dagenham that has forced people from their London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 25 fire engines and a wildfire response vehicle are at the blaze that covers around eight hectares of grass, shrubland and trees, as well as fences and garden said the fire behind was behind Clemence Road in Dagenham, which backs on to Beam Parklands, and nearby properties are being are advised to keep their doors and windows shut due to the smoke and the public is advised to avoid the area due to road closures. The LFB said its wildfire response vehicle provides off-road capability enabling the transportation of additional equipment closer to fires on open vehicle carries around 475 litres of water, a backpack blower, ear defenders, beaters and misting lance technology, which allows firefighters to pump water and drive, enabling them to tackle grass fires more quickly and brigade said it is also using wildfire beaters - a long handle with a flat piece of rubber at the end. They are used to beat the flames - to prevent the fire from spreading. The LFB was first alerted to the fire at 18:30 BST and crews from Dagenham, Hornchurch, Wennington, Romford and other surrounding fire stations are at the cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
