Fires and Firefighters

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      Edison’s Power Lines Were Under Strain 14 Hours Before Eaton Fire

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      New data suggests there were faults on Southern California Edison’s transmission lines early on Jan. 7 before the fire started that evening.About 14 hours before the Eaton fire started on Jan. 7 on the hills above Altadena and Pasadena, Calif., power lines in the area had signs of being under strain from intensifying winds.New data from a company that maintains electrical sensors suggests that the transmission network of Southern California Edison was stressed long before the most severe winds bore down on the Los Angeles region, adding to growing criticism that the electric utility did not do enough to prevent the blaze. Edison is already under review as the possible cause of the Eaton fire, which fire killed 17 people and destroyed more than 9,400 buildings.The data comes from Whisker Labs, a technology company in Maryland, and suggests there were faults, or electrical malfunctions, on Edison’s transmission lines at 4:28 a.m. and 4:36 a.m. on the day of the fire. Winds speeds at the time were sustained at 60 miles per hour, with gusts as high as 79 m.p.h., — strong enough for engineers to consider cutting power.Later in the day, Whisker identified two faults just minutes before the fire started, at about 6:11 p.m., on the transmission network near Eaton Canyon, where fire investigators have said the Eaton Fire began. Those faults matched flashes on the transmission lines recorded by a video camera at a nearby Arco gas station. More

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      Scenes From Eight States Battered by Weekend Storms

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      A cross-country storm system tore through the South and the Midwest over the weekend, accompanied by tornadoes, dust storms and wildfires. Severe damage was reported in at least eight states.Number of reported deaths from storms and firesOfficials reported at least 40 deaths across seven states that have been attributed to severe weather in the South and Midwest. More

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      Nightclub Fire Kills at Least 59 in North Macedonia

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      The tragedy occurred after fireworks set the club’s roof on fire during a pop concert, the country’s interior minister said.Outside the nightclub where a fire broke out in Kocani, North Macedonia, on Sunday.Televizija Kocani, via ReutersAt least 59 people were killed and 155 others were injured when a fire broke out overnight in a nightclub in North Macedonia, the country’s interior minister, Panche Toshkovski, said on Sunday. The blaze — the deadliest national tragedy in recent memory — has horrified the small country in southeastern Europe.“The loss of so many young lives is irreparable, and the pain of the families, loved ones and friends is immeasurable,” Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski wrote on X. He called it “a difficult and very sad day” for North Macedonia.Mr. Toshkovski told reporters that arrest warrants had been issued for four people in connection with the blaze.The fire occurred during a pop concert at the club in the eastern town of Kocani, Mr. Toshkovski told reporters. Fireworks had been set off, causing the roof to catch fire, he said.One police officer died while on duty inside the club to check for drugs or underage guests, he added. Officials have identified 35 of the dead, 31 of whom were from Kocani.Angela Aggeler, the American ambassador to the country, wrote on X, “My heart breaks this morning for the many victims in last night’s fire at a nightclub in Kochani.” She added, “The loss of so many young lives in one community is a terrible tragedy.”North Macedonia, a small country of about two million people, is nestled between Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia. The town where the blaze occurred is about 50 miles east of the capital, Skopje.For many, the blaze brought up painful memories of a fire at a North Macedonian hospital for coronavirus patients in 2021. At least 14 people died in that fire at a mobile hotel, which happened in Tetovo, in the country’s northwest.This weekend’s fire is one of several recent infernos in nightclubs. In 2024, at least 29 people were killed in a club fire in Istanbul. In 2023, 13 people were killed when a club complex caught fire in Spain. A 2015 fire killed at least 27 people in Romania, and a 2013 fire killed at least 233 people in Brazil.In Kocani, the death toll may still rise: Arben Taravari, the health minister, told reporters that 20 people were in critical condition.Ognen Cancarevik, a reporter for Telma, a national television station, called the episode “a terrible tragedy.”“People are shocked,” he said in a phone interview. “People are angry. People want answers, and people want to know who is responsible.”Kocani is a small town, he said, and many people in the region work in agriculture. Young people often leave the country to look for work or higher salaries abroad, he said, and many Macedonians are frustrated by low salaries and corruption.“The morale is low,” Mr. Cancarevik said. “The last thing we need is a tragedy of this scale where young and innocent kids die.” More

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      Plane Fire at Denver Airport Forces Passengers to Evacuate Onto Wing

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      The flight had been diverted to the airport after experiencing “engine vibrations,” the authorities said. Six passengers were taken to a hospital for evaluation.American Airlines, which operated the flight, said the plane had experienced an “engine-related issue.”Branden Williams/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAn American Airlines plane that was diverted to Denver International Airport on Thursday evening after experiencing “engine vibrations” caught fire while taxiing to a gate, prompting the evacuation of dozens of passengers, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.Six passengers were taken to a hospital for further evaluation, the airline said. Their conditions were not immediately known.The flight, a Boeing 737-800 with 172 passengers and six crew members, was traveling from Colorado Springs to Dallas but was diverted to the Denver airport, the airline said. Some of the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft using slides, the F.A.A. said.“After landing safely and taxiing to the gate at Denver International Airport, American Airlines Flight 1006 experienced an engine-related issue,” the airline said. Videos posted to social media showed passengers standing on the plane’s wing and climbing down a portable staircase to leave the plane. Light gray smoke filled the air. From other angles, black smoke poured out of the aircraft and orange flames could be seen at the base of the aircraft.A video taken by Mike Insalata, a Denver resident, showed a large fire under the plane’s left engine. The F.AA. is investigating.The episode at Denver International Airport was the latest in a recent string of aviation woes. On Feb. 25, two separate airplanes, one at Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport and another at Chicago’s Midway International Airport, had to abort landings to avoid collisions.Earlier last month, a plane at the Toronto Pearson Airport flipped over. And on Feb. 5, the wing of a plane was impaled on the tail of another plane during a collision on the ground at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. More

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      Oil Tanker and Container Ship Collide in the North Sea

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      Britain’s coast guard said it was “coordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel,” and that a fire had broken out.A container ship collided with a U.S.-flagged oil tanker off the northeastern coast of England, according to emergency responders, who scrambled to the scene on Monday morning. Initial images shared by the BBC showed fire and thick black smoke rising from the ships, and local authorities said that a number of people had been taken to area hospitals.The British coast guard said it was “coordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire,” and that an alarm was first raised at 9:48 a.m. local time. More

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      Plane With 5 Aboard Crashes in Lancaster County, Pa.

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      Those on board were taken to a hospital, officials said, and three of them were transported to a burn center. Radio transmissions indicated the pilot reported an “open door” just before the crash.A small aircraft carrying five people crashed in a parking lot of a retirement community in Lancaster County, Pa., on Sunday afternoon, according to local officials, after the pilot reported there was an “open door,” air traffic transmissions show.The aircraft, a six-seater Beechcraft Bonanza, crashed outside of Brethren Village Retirement Community at 3:18 p.m. after it took off from Lancaster Airport, Scott Little, the fire chief of Manheim Township Fire Rescue, said at a news conference on Sunday.According to a spokesperson for Lancaster General Hospital, all five people on the plane were transported to Lancaster General Hospital on Sunday. Two people were then transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s burn center by emergency flight crews, and one person was transported there by ground ambulance. Two people remain hospitalized at Lancaster General, the spokesperson said.No one on the ground was hurt, officials said.Duane Fisher, police chief of Manheim Township, said at the news conference that it looked like the aircraft skidded about 100 feet after hitting the ground. About a dozen vehicles were damaged, though there was no damage to buildings.According to the Aviation Safety Network, which provides real-time information on airline accidents and safety, the plane departed Lancaster Airport and was bound for Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio.Shortly after taking off, the pilot reported there was an “open door,” and that the plane needed “to return for a landing,” according to an air traffic control recording. The pilot reported difficulty hearing the controller because of the wind.Videos on social media showed the plane and nearby vehicles engulfed in flames, with smoke billowing from the fire.The F.A.A. and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. More

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      Brush Fires Break Out on Long Island, Prompting Highway Closure

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      An official said that dozens of agencies were fighting multiple fires on Saturday. At least one firefighter was injured.Multiple wildfires broke out on Long Island on Saturday amid high-risk fire conditions of low humidity and gusty winds, forcing the closure of sections of a highway in Suffolk County and drawing the response of dozens of agencies.At a news conference on Saturday evening, Ed Romaine, the Suffolk County executive, said that one firefighter was hospitalized with second-degree burns to the face. Two structures also burned in the fire, he said.“We maximized our firefighting capabilities to stop this fire from spreading and then we tried to contain it,” Mr. Romaine said. “But it is not under control as I speak.”Mr. Romaine added that he did not expect the fire to be fully out until Sunday because of the high winds.The fire in the Westhampton area was roughly 50 percent contained by Saturday evening, Rudy Sunderman, the Suffolk County fire coordinator, said at the news conference.Mr. Romaine said in a statement earlier that more than 80 agencies were involved in fighting three fires in eastern Long Island. More

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      Wildfires in the Carolinas Prompt Evacuations

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      Gusty winds combined with dry air and unusually high temperatures were fueling the rapid spread of fires on Saturday.Brush fires fueled by gusty winds and dry conditions broke out on Saturday in North and South Carolina, prompting the authorities to order evacuations in several communities.On Saturday afternoon, a brush fire in the mountains was threatening Tryon and Saluda, small communities about 40 miles south of Asheville, N.C.Polk County said multiple fire departments were responding to a blaze threatening Meadowlark Drive in Tryon, which was evacuated. Tryon’s population is about 1,500, and Saluda’s less than 1,000.The county said on social media that the Tryon brush fire was spreading rapidly and that multiple fire departments had been mobilized.A brush fire along the South Carolina coast was threatening Carolina Forest, S.C., just west of Myrtle Beach. That fire was 75 percent contained as of early Saturday night, according to the South Carolina Forestry Commission.“Crews are continuing to work toward the containment of this fire,” the Horry County Fire Rescue, which is leading efforts to fight the fire, said on social media on Saturday evening. Several neighborhoods in Carolina Forest were under an evacuation order.Another fire broke out near Six Mile, S.C., a rural town about 30 miles west of Greenville. County officials there had recommended evacuations along several streets but, as of Saturday evening, no evacuations had been ordered.The fires ignited while a large portion of the southeastern United States was under a red-flag warning, an alert from the National Weather Service indicating a high risk of fires.Gusty winds, dry air and afternoon high temperatures in the low 70s helped fuel the rapid spread of the fires.Another factor: South Carolina had unusually low rainfall in February, and the vegetation is dry. For instance, Myrtle Beach, S.C., has recorded 2.30 inches of rain since Jan. 1, compared with 6.30 inches of rain that is considered normal for this time of year. North Carolina was a bit wetter last month, though it also received below-average rainfall.The fire risk is expected to decrease overnight as winds ease. The red flag warnings were set to expire at 10 p.m. on Saturday.Claire Fahy More