Saturday, June 15, 2013

12 Fires Now Burning in Colorado

Two new fires joined ten others burning in Colorado.

The weather has been cooperating a bit with fire fighting efforts, with cooling temperatures and higher humidity, but winds are still sticking around.

Beaver Creek Fire is nearly completely contained. Hopes are for full containment, late Saturday. The fire started on Thursday, after a lightning strike. About fourteen acres have been burned. No structures were threatened.

Bergen Rock Fire continues to smoulder, since being contained on Tuesday. Expectations are for all hot spots to be eliminated by Sunday. No structures were ever in danger.

Big Meadows Fire is thirty percent contained. Nearly three hundred and fifty-three acres were lost to it. Two hundred and sixty fire fighters and aircraft are working on it. Seven trails, in the area, have been closed to the public. No structures are in danger, due to the blaze.

Black Forest Fire, by far the largest of the fires is now up to thirty percent containment. It has burned sixteen thousand acres, destroyed four hundred and seventy-three homes, and damaged at least seventeen more. Two bodies have been found in it's wake. Some of the forty thousand evacuations, due to the fire, have been lifted. Eight hundred firefighters and aircraft are continuing the battle against it. Hopes are for full containment on June 20.

Fern Creek Fire is at about ten acres. It's remote location and difficult terrain has led to only aircraft being able to fight it. No structures are in danger. Officials are hoping that it will not expand and eventually burn itself out.

Hacking Fire is one of two fires in the Dinosaur National Monument, combining at one hundred and fifty acres. It is in a remote area of the park and not threatening any structures. A helicopter is working on that blaze.

Klikus Fire has burnt sixty acres. Located about five miles west of La Veta it is seventy-five percent contained. Thirty firefighters are battling it. No structures are in danger. All evacuations have been lifted.

La Veta Fire has burnt forty-two acres. It is now considered one hundred percent contained. Efforts are now being aimed at eliminate hotspots.

Royal Gorge Fire destroyed twenty buildings around the Royal Gorge Bridge. Thirty-two hundred acres have been burnt by it. It is forty percent contained. One hundred and fifty firefighters are busy with it. Twelve people were temporarily hospitalized due to smoke inhalation and other breathing problems related to the smoke. Some evacuations are still in place, because of the fire.

Ward Gulch Fire began on Friday, due to lightning, and quickly grew to more than three hundred acres. It is threatening buildings at the Rifle Mountain Park and a nearby fish hatchery. The area has been closed to the public. Three aircraft are battling the blaze.

West Fork Fire began on Friday, and has already burnt nearly five hundred acres. Various cabins in the Weminuche Wilderness are threatened by it. Concerns are high as much of the trees in the area are dead, and so will burn quite easily. Fifty firefighters and aircraft are battling the blaze.

Wild Fire is currently burning on Wild Mountain in the Dinosaur National Monument. It's location has prompted warnings to stay away from the mountain and it's popular trails. Combined with the Hacking Fire, one hundred and fifty acres of the park are burning. No structures are in danger. A helicopter is working on drowning it.

Louisiana Plant Explosion Kills 1, Injures 7

An explosion occurred at CF Industries facility in Donaldsonville, Louisiana, Friday night.

One person was killed and seven were injured in the blast.

According to authorities, nitrogen was being offloaded from a tanker truck, when the pressure rose extremely quickly, causing the explosion.

Officials said there was no danger to the public, as a result of the blast.

This came just a day after an explosion at another plant killed two in Geismar, just a few miles away.

Brazilians Violently Protest Increase in Public Transportation Fares

Protests broke out in Brazil as people reacted to an increase in public transportation fares.

Bus and subway tickets are increasing from 3 reals to 3.2, or from $1.40 to $1.49.

Both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro saw the protests turn violent.

Government officials say that the protests turned into riots, with public and private property being damaged.

As protesters lit fires in the streets, police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Fifty-five people were injured and one hundred and sixty arrests were made.

Iranians Elect Rouhani as Next President

Iranians have elected Hassan Rouhani as their next President.

Beating out five other candidates, Rouhani took more than half of the votes, making him a clear winner.

Rouhani was the lone moderate candidate, making him the most palatable for Iranians who had felt their last election was stolen from them.

Going in, he had been considered the long shot, and there were times it was thought that the government would not let him run.

But he was not blocked from running was able to gain the support of moderates and reformists, handily winning him the election.

Of the six candidates he had been seen, by the west, as the best hope for renewing negotiations with Iran.

Now it will remain to be seen if Rouhani will be able to, or even actually try to, reform the country.

Attacks in Pakistan Leave at Least 21 Dead

Burnt out bus from Saturday's attacks
At least twenty-one people were killed in multiple attacks in Pakistan, on Saturday.

A police officer was killed in Baluchistan, as he tried to defend a museum, dedicated to Pakistan's founder, from separatists.

After securing the building, the separatists blew it up, destroying the national shrine and museum. The Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed the attack.

Hours later, in Quetta, a bomb struck a bus full of female university students. The bus was engulfed in flames, killing eleven of it's passengers.

Survivors of the explosion and fire were taken to Dolan Medical College, where a bomb exploded in the emergency room department, killing at least four people.

Following that explosion, gunmen burst into the hospital and took shelter on it's roof. From there they exchanged gun fire with police and military forces, until they were overwhelmed.

At least five soldiers were killed fighting the gunmen, who were all killed or captured. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the bus and hospital attacks.