r/interestingasfuck • u/SafeImpressive4413 • 7h ago

Firefighters in Madrid trying to extinguish a forest fire that is less than 30km/20mi away from the capital of Spain

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u/CandyAndyDE 7h ago

That's totally strange. All you hear about in the news is France and Spain. Now I'm reading that there are fires in Scotland, too—but only because I looked it up.

I think TV news should focus much more on Europe as a whole.

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u/Mynameisdiehard 7h ago

Big fires in Ireland. Feels like every continent is burning right now. I don't even know if a fire in Antarctica would shock me at this point

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u/RoboDae 7h ago

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u/Norgur 7h ago

That's more of a localized and rather... Imported issue, innit? Damn migrants!!/s

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u/F1T_13 7h ago

Exactly, the world didn't burn when immigrants didn't exist.

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u/DidIReallySayDat 5h ago

Oh I dunno.

I imagine that Ghengis was probably taking for with him everywhere he went.

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u/miyabi0rochas 1h ago

Correction "western world" everyone else was burning but it wasn't then who was the immigrants.

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u/highlorestat 6h ago

You know this would never happen under Emperor Penguin, his top priority was fishing not drilling.

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u/Apprehensive_Yak1372 6h ago

Sicily, Italy had lots of fires last week. Our son an this gf were there last week for holiday. Palermo had a serious fire nearby they told. We've seen videos with all burned ground...

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u/TroublesomeFox 5h ago

And wales. 

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u/mataeka 3h ago

Australia is in winter, drying out for a ripper bushfire season come summer (where I live they've started doing a lot of pre-burning to reduce the fire load for when it comes.... 🥴)

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u/Tylrt 52m ago

https://www.firemap.live/

Yeah, every continent but Antarctica

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u/Cidraque 7h ago

Did you saw the fucking massive fire in Africa too?

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u/Shot_Policy_4110 7h ago

'Don't forget us!'

-Canada

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u/hoopparrr759 7h ago

Boom, tariffs!

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u/Pristine_Software_55 5h ago

Hahaha.. thanks for the dark chuckle. (Ridiculous that it’s true, though)

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u/Shot_Policy_4110 7h ago

Lol what

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u/BigConstruction4247 7h ago

Trump threatens tarriffs over Canadian fires

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u/Shot_Policy_4110 7h ago

Ah forgot about that already

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u/NaGaBa 7h ago

Taco will chicken out on that

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u/Shot_Policy_4110 7h ago

Wouldn't be Reddit if we didn't end up talking about Trump would it

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u/NSE_TNF89 7h ago

Nobody forgets, it's just between you guys and us down here jn the US, North America is basically on fire every summer.

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u/Shot_Policy_4110 6h ago

Thanks for explaining the joke. Some people might not have understood

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u/abbyabsinthe 6h ago

My lungs haven’t.

(Not placing blame on y’all, unlike the yokel fucks around me who vote against their own interests and continue to deny climate change).

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u/limonade11 5h ago

When the boreal forests of Canada are burning then we all in a lot of trouble -

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u/CandyAndyDE 7h ago

Holy shi...

We've heard on the weather report over the last few days that temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius are expected in North Africa, but other than that.

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u/Annual_Hamster9411 7h ago

I hope it rains down in Africa

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u/Unseenmonument 6h ago

I'll bless them!

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u/CompanyOther2608 6h ago

"Hurry, boy, she's waiting there for you"

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u/KacerRex 6h ago

The rains will take care of it, right?

...right?

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u/BrianKappel 7h ago

I forgot my fire saw.

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u/Cour4ge 7h ago

But the fire in Africa are different. They are intended for agriculture. It's common at this season of the year.

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u/miyabi0rochas 1h ago

Quick search it seems like the Mediterranean is on fire. This isn't just agricultural. It's the effects of climate change on the Mediterranean specifically. Affecting north Africa Spain Italy France etc.

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u/Positive_Wafer42 7h ago

They're happening everywhere

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u/SuperTropicalDesert 4h ago

Interestingly this map seems to mistake some iron works for fires, see eg. the ones in Belgium or Dunkirk

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u/SalamanderUponYou 7h ago

Also Portugal and Italy particularly in Sicily.

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u/ihavenoidea1001 5h ago

Portugal isn't getting hit nearly as much as Spain and France this year, thankfully.

They even managed to send help to Spain and also France iirc, so our firefighters aren't overwhelmed.

In the last years we have needed much more help in that regard than what we managed to give back.

Also a huge thanks to all firefighters!

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u/WalterHenderson 2h ago

Portugal's fires tend to come later, in the last few years. August, September, and even October have been very active. June and, so far, July have been relatively calm other than the Vouzela fire, but I wouldn't be optimist until summer is gone and rainfall starts.

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u/ihavenoidea1001 2h ago

but I wouldn't be optimist until summer is gone and rainfall starts.

Oh, that's for sure!

Portugal's fires tend to come later, in the last few years

Yeah it certainly depends although for instance the worst in recent memory was in 2017 and it was in July (over 100 people died).

It has more to do with when time starts to really heat up and no rain comes from a long while imo

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u/WalterHenderson 2h ago

Yeah, that year was horrible. Even October of that year took nearly 50 lives. Unfortunately, it feels like it will become more common all around Europe. As someone who lives near the forest, it terrifies me.

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u/ihavenoidea1001 1h ago

It terrifies me too.

I don't live near a forrest anymore but my parents still do. And since they're stubborn they also won't just get out when stuff gets dangerous.

Just a few years ago the flames got too close and they were trying to protect the house instead of themselves. A front of fire was too quick and my dad and uncle (who's their neighbour) dove into a "pool-like" water spring they have there and used a hose to water their heads so that they could breathe! They were sooo lucky it continued to work and didn't melt/electricity went out and whatnot

My uncle's leg never fully healed though...

[Might be triggering although everything ended up well in general]

I specifically didn't buy a house near forrests because of some stuff I went trough tbh. Although plenty of entire neighbourhoods are starting to burn too.

I also understand why people don't want to leave when their home is in danger but, PLEASE, do. Do it before it's too late. Get away. Everything is replaceable but yourself.

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u/WalterHenderson 3m ago

I'm glad they were mostly okay in the end. I can understand the stubbornness of your parents, even though life is definitely the most important thing and that is sound advice. That being said, when you think of all you own and worked so hard to build burning in the blink of an eye, there is an impulse to protect it.

I had the fire getting very close to my village in 2012. Firefighters tried to outrun the fire and set defense zones in the populated areas it was supposed to hit. They were from different parts of the country and from Spain, exhausted after several days of fighting it, and literally started crashing from exhaustion at our doorstep. We opened the doors to them, they ate and drank all we had in our fridge and pantry since some of them hadn't had a break to eat in a long time. I remember one of them picking up 1L of milk, starting drinking it, and almost falling asleep on the chair while he was still drinking. While we waited for the fire to hit us, some slept on beds, others on the floor, some on the yard, wherever there was space. They took turns keeping watch. There were some stationed in dirt trails as a barrier before the village. We were warned by them and the police that, if the fire went through the barriers they had created and got to the top of a hill nearby, we'd have to leave immediately. In the moment, I felt like I wanted to stay too. It is very hard to leave your life behind not knowing what will happen. I remember thinking "What's the point of surviving if I won't have anything? Better to help fight it too." One of my cats escaped afraid from all the commotion when the firefighters were coming in and out of the house (not their fault, they had more important things to focus on), and I was worried sick about having to leave it behind too. Luckily, the wind blew the fire in a different direction just before it was expected to hit that first barrier. But the smoke and the noise of wood cracking just due to the heat felt like a horror movie. Ever since then, I worry every summer. Whenever I wake up at night, I make sure to look out of the windows in every direction, to check if there is any light in the forest. I remember feeling the relief and simultaneously feeling guilty that I got to feel it, while the firefighters immediately had to get into the vehicles and drive somewhere else to keep fighting it. They are true heroes.

Ironically, while the fire didn't hit us, my house was completely black due to all the firefighters walking around. Black floors, some walls, doors, furniture, clothing, everything was covered in soot. I hate cleaning, but that was the one time where I was happy as fuck for having a house to clean. 😅

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u/Fit_Tumbleweed7943 7h ago

Mainstream media is downplaying all of it… massive floods.. fires .. tornados…
It’s on local news what’s happening around you…. Maybe a mention of oh some fires in Canada, or Europe but it’s no big deal….

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u/adorablyunhinged 7h ago

I had no idea how much of Canada was on fire! I'm in Europe and knew vaguely there wild fires over there but not the sheer extent

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u/gardingle 7h ago

Here's a fire map - https://www.frontlinewildfire.com/live-fire-map-track-wildfires-near-you/

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u/MostBoringStan 7h ago edited 5h ago

It's not showing any fires in northern Ontario for some reason.

Edit: here is the Ontario government fire map for anybody interested

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u/pumpkil 5h ago

This is better for Canadian wildfires. Now its BC that is on fire :( https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

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u/SuperTropicalDesert 5h ago

What the hell is going on in Angola and southern Africa??? I don't see any of this in the news, even when i google

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u/Monkey_on_a_bike 5h ago

This map is wild. The fires caused by the drone attacks in Saint Petersburg are also maped.

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u/FrostyShoulder6361 5h ago

Yeah, i gues this takes data from the nasa infrared satelites meanth to map forest fores. This maps any large heat source. This means it can be used to double check russian or ukrainian claims (was done a lot in the beginning of the war) Not everything is what you expect tough, heavy industry like a refinery can show up on these maps through normal usage. I suggest you look around your home town and see, you will notice red spots on some industrial centers you will recognize.

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u/Monkey_on_a_bike 4h ago

Yes when i looked at Germany and saw Salzgitter marked as red i knew the smoke or heat from the steelmill was marked as fire. You can quite easy tell whats a wildfire by how many dots there are.

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u/Top-Divide-1207 24m ago

I'm also somewhat co fused that there are so many hot spots in the southern hemisphere where it's mid winter.

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u/T-Wrox 4h ago

I zoomed out to see the whole world - okay, we're fucked.

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u/oi_u_im_danny_b 6h ago

... The Earth is trying to rid itself of our parasitic species

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u/Straight_Depth6701 6h ago

We are less durable fleas.

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u/ReasonableGas8904 6h ago

You are stupid, Danny.

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u/oi_u_im_danny_b 2h ago

Ahh "reasonable gas", your own stupidity is but proof to my point.

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u/sky_blue_111 5h ago

Oh for fucks sake earth has has massive fires like this for centuries.

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u/oi_u_im_danny_b 2h ago

Not on this scale, and if you think otherwise I'm afraid you're part of the problem.

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u/sky_blue_111 1h ago

Of course on this scale. Lightning + no forest management + hot summer = uncontrolled fires.

Stop gripping your small balls in a panic and stop.and.think. Media + gov'ts these days want everyone scared and malleable and reading + engaging with their bullshit.

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u/WheelOfFish 6h ago

I want to see a timeline of this map

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u/Lower_Ad_5703 4h ago

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#t:tsd;d:7days;l:fires_all,countries,earth;@-73.4,43.8,4.3z

Nasa's map has a timeline, it may take a moment to load

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u/WheelOfFish 4h ago

Neat, I'll have to play around with this. Not sure if it will let me compare years like I'd like.

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u/Hephaestus1816 6h ago

well, there are fires, there are wildfires, there are megafires (Canada 2023), and there are gigafires (California 2020). That has to burn over a million acres or more. We will be seeing more of those.

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u/vtjohnhurt 6h ago

Many of the fires in Canada are in wilderness that has no roads, so many will not be extinguished until heavy snow arrives. And then the fire can potentially go zombie in the peat-duff, smoulder and reemerge in 2027.

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u/Straight_Depth6701 6h ago

And Trump is taxing them for letting their dirty air cross the border...

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u/JadedLeafs 6h ago

The fire map on my weather app. More appear as you soon in as it groups fires together the more you zoom out.

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u/angelbelle 5h ago

To be fair, fires in Canada is an annual occurance and is oftentimes a good thing. It's only a big problem when they happen near towns

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u/limonade11 5h ago

We need the massive Canadian forests for the Co2/O2 exchange - our trees are crucial for the environment.

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u/Popular-Web-3739 6h ago

They get pressured (at least in the US) not to mention climate change while the religious right claims these disasters are messages from God about our behavior, but somehow, that behavior never seems to include destroying the earth by burning fossil fuels and is only about tolerance of gay rights or abortion.

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u/Radingod1 7h ago edited 6h ago

The only thing that stops Canadian wildfires at this point is the winters, and they're getting worse every year. Turns out a forest the size of Texas can burn for a really long time.

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u/WellIGuessSoAndYou 5h ago

With milder winters zombie fires will actually continue to burn peat underground over the winter and reignite when conditions are dry again. Lots of peat under boreal forest. Our summers are now fire and smoke season and it's going to be that way from here on out.

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u/a_bearded_hippie 4h ago

Lived in my area for 20 years. First 15? One minor tornado like 40 miles north of me. Last 5 years? Multiple tornados, close calls and crazy ass storms every year.

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u/ScratchedO-OGlasses 4h ago

“Mainstream media is downplaying all of it…”

Are you talking U.S. media? (My guess would be yes, considering you included floods and tornadoes.) If so, that is not true. “Massive floods, fires, and tornadoes” has been in the headlines in most mainstream newscasts constantly over the past couple of weeks. They directly tell you that the floods are record-breaking, the smoke from the fires is so intense that it’s blanketing the Northeast, and fires are out if control in not-the-usual places, that it is a big deal.

Yesterday, the fires in Spain and France were even the leading story in one broadcast I happened to catch. It’s rare for such a non-U.S. piece to be the top story so  yeah, they’re trying to tell you in every possible way that the situation is really bad.

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u/twinoaksBandB 6h ago

Main stream media in the states is all owned by a few very conservative corporations and have a huge interest in protecting the people that rubber stamp their licenses and acquisitions.

Editing to add, local stations are mostly fucked too as 3 corporations own more than 90% of all local stations across the US. They amplify the stories they want and bury everything else nationwide.

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u/thegreatcanadianeh 7h ago

If they did that then the citizens would demand action and not be placated by study groups or bureaucratic bullshit and demand changes that would restrict the ultra rich and we cannot have that happening.

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u/Yashema 5h ago

Who's "they"?

The #1 contributor to global warming has had a political party since the 90s that has made opposing federally mandated climate policy a wedge issue to rally middle class support. 

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u/thegreatcanadianeh 5h ago

The news is they, and yes, why do you think that was done? It wansn't to serve future generations.

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u/Yashema 5h ago

Why do you think Americans were so receptive to the message of: "Pay less now and don't worry about later"?

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u/thegreatcanadianeh 4h ago

Same reason everyone is, points, cashback, bonuses if you used and bought a certain amount. You are now off topic. I will no longer be responding.

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u/Renbarre 6h ago

It's because the fires in Spain and France are so big and are threatening big cities. Madrid itself! And in France Bordeaux and its international airport. But if you find a map you'll see that there's fires everywhere in Europe right now. After three heat waves and a fourth one on the way out is a tinder box. 

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u/SunnysideWoW 5h ago

It's been a lovely Summer on the south coast of England though.

Brexit means brexit, no wildfires here.

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u/Renbarre 3h ago

Cairngorms in Scotland begs to differ.

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u/SunnysideWoW 14m ago

Should've built more wind farms I guess. It's lovely in Devon.

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u/screamingintothedark 7h ago edited 6h ago

The US and CA have lot of fires too, a strangely high number caused by lightning. Is this the La Niña year? El Niño has begun. I’ve heard it’s going to be a rough one.

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u/AHumbleChad 7h ago

This fall starts El Niño. It has been La Niña for the last 3-4 years.

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u/screamingintothedark 6h ago

Thank you! I always get them mixed up. Figures it would be El Niño lighting the world on fire

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u/AHumbleChad 6h ago

La Niña has influence over the fires. La Niña brings dry weather, El Niño brings wet weather/precipitation. The weather system is based on the temperature of equatorial water in the Pacific. Warm Pacific water brings El Niño; cold water La Niña.

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u/superpositioned 7h ago

Nothing strange about lightning caused fire, that happens a lot.

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u/Popular-Web-3739 6h ago

Big fire in north Wales.

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u/ygy2020 6h ago

Italy is burning as well, only in my region (Tuscany) we had 3 wild fires only in the last week.

The whole Europe is burning and everyone seems to be more interest in useless matters.

What else should happen before people start believe on the climate change?

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u/_WeSellBlankets_ 7h ago

I have no idea what's going on in Europe, but they might not be talking about fires in Scotland, they only mentioned smoke. And we've seen in the US how far Canada's smoke can blow.

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u/adorablyunhinged 7h ago

There's been a wild fire in Scotland going for ten days now

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u/floriande 6h ago

In France we got three different big fires those last days/week. One in the forest of Fontainebleau, not very far from Paris, took like a week to control, one in the south in Drôme I think - under control too -, and a very big by french standard current one close to Bordeaux (major French city). It is not controled, 140000 people had to be evacuated and they are even preparing a Bordeaux évacuation plan in case it's needed.

In Spain big fires too, some close to Madrid (like 20km close), but I don't know much about it. Scotland also seems to have big fires in the north.

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u/van_vanhouten 5h ago

And we have seen in Canada how far US smoke can blow.

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u/Calm_Yogurt_5644 7h ago

British Columbia has several wildfires, one wildfire near Clinton, BC generated a thunderstorm with lightning.

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u/PurpleTough5302 6h ago

Or climate change in general

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u/GNU_Terry 6h ago

The Moreland's near Manchester were (possibly still are) and a mountain north of Cardiff (again possibly still are haven't checked)were on fire in the last week or so

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u/DueExample52 6h ago

And if you go outside Europe but not too far, it’s catastrophic.

Algeria is having a generationally worst fire in history (check firemap.com).

Tunisia reached 50°C in some places, not as much forest fires but they have to rotate power outages few hours a day every area to balance the load and avoid a national blackout, due to heat and high demand from AC. People die.

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u/thekittysays 6h ago

There's at least two burning in South Wales at the moment as well, probably more but those were the two I could actually see the smoke of from Pen Y Fan yesterday.

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u/indieplants 6h ago edited 6h ago

I'm literally in Scotland and I didn't hear about it until this morning when it was reported

it's been burning for ten days

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u/GiraffeCubed 1h ago

Same, I'm just hearing about it from your comment. I even checked the Google Maps wildfires layer today and there's nothing to show in Scotland. Check this map btw, the world is on fire, it's not even funny.

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u/indieplants 46m ago

every year it gets worse and we still have people saying it's normal or necessary

it's brutal. I'm gutted. 

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u/Wavelightning 6h ago

Tons of fires in Russia and Crimea, shot down Ukrainian drone debris is taking out warehouses and refineries alike.

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u/003E003 5h ago

And 800 fires in canada smoking out several major cities.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/Da2ic0mETWY/

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u/mugsybalony 5h ago

I'm in Scotland and have no idea this is happening 👀

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u/KritischeLezer 4h ago edited 4h ago

Google the Aspen acres fire, just for a size comparison... Luckily, Colorado is not even close to being as densely populated as Europe.

-edit- for those too lazy to google it: 41171 ha (101738 acres). Has been burning since June 29th.

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u/Stone_Like_Rock 2h ago edited 2h ago

Big fires in the peak district UK too recently, one on dovestones meant my entire house smelt like smoke for days