Month: June 2019

MEXICO CITY — A new tropical storm has formed far off Mexico’s southern coast, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it’s likely to reach hurricane strength, though without threatening land. Tropical Storm Barbara was centered about 850 miles (1,370 kilometers) south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula on Sunday and was heading to the west-northwest into the open Pacific Ocean at a relatively brisk 16 mph (26 kph). The Hurricane Center…

Wake Forest, N.C. — Four townhomes were damaged Friday – one was a total loss – in a fire at the Caddell Woods subdivision in Wake Forest. The fire was reported at 2914 Gross Ave., but firefighters had yet to determine where it had started or the precise cause. From Sky 5, holes could be seen in the roofs of at least three units of a four-unit group. One person taken to the hospital with minor…

MADRID — Firefighters and aircraft battled for a third straight day Friday to contain a major wildfire that started in a pile of chicken dung and raced across the hills of northeastern Spain amid a heat wave. Authorities said more than 700 firefighters, eight helicopters and six water-dropping aircraft aimed to slow the fire’s progress until nightfall, when cooler temperatures might give them an advantage. A stiff breeze was driving the flames in the direction…

MEXICO CITY — The first hurricane of the Eastern Pacific season has formed and faded far off the coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Alvin’s maximum sustained winds hit nearly 75 mph (120 kph) Thursday evening, but slipped back below hurricane threshold to 70 mph (110 kph) by Friday morning. It’s expected to continue weakening while moving roughly northwestward over open seas. The storm was centered about 535 miles (860 kilometers) southwest…

MADRID — Hundreds of firefighters struggled Thursday to contain a wildfire in northeastern Spain that has spread over 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) and forced the evacuation of 53 residents. A Spanish military unit with 120 specialists joined local firefighters who had worked overnight to control the blaze that sent thick plumes of smoke over difficult, hilly terrain near the Ebro River. Miquel Buch, the regional interior minister, said 20,000 hectares were under threat in what…

BILLINGS, Mont. — Climate change in the Western U.S. means more intense and frequent wildfires churning out waves of smoke that scientists say will sweep across the continent to affect tens of millions of people and cause a spike in premature deaths. That emerging reality is prompting people in cities and rural areas alike to prepare for another summer of sooty skies along the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains – the regions widely…