Officials say at least four people were killed (and 50 more injured) in that enormous gas line explosion in San Bruno, Calif. last night. Looking at the pictures from that night, it's amazing these numbers weren't a lot worse.
60 mph wind gusts are pushing the Colorado wildfire closer to the town of Boulder, and authorities have told residents that the western part of town may be evacuated. At least 170 homes have been destroyed this week.
An enormous explosion just rocked San Bruno, California, a suburb just above San Francisco International Airport. Like, really big: A whole block is on fire with 200-foot flames. Six people are in critical condition. What the hell is going on?
[Colorado is on fire. Well, part of it, anyway: This is from outside of Boulder; some 92 structures have been destroyed and another eight damaged. Pic via AP.]
There was a three-alarm fire yesterday on a pier that housed Sanitation Department trailers, snow plows and employees' gear: "I lost everything, and I just did my laundry, too," one sanitation worker told the Times. Over 100 firefighters responded.
Tipster Julia sends in this picture of a raging fire at 12th Ave. And 57th St: "A bunch of cars were on fire." NY1 says this is a "Department of Sanitation Pier". Check back for more details.
Your comedically terrible chain reaction of the day: A golfer who swung his iron and hit a rock sparked a 12-acre fire in California today. Flint and steel: It really works! [AP, image via Shutterstock]
[A bird flies past a cloud of smoke coming from a fire at a paint factory in Jandira, Brazil. No one was hurt, except for my soul, which shed a single tear at this image. Pic via AP.]
The devastating floods in Pakistan and widespread fires in Russia are caused by the same thing: God. Ha, no, totally kidding—they were caused by a "kink" in the jet stream, a "river of air" miles above the surface.
Some of the hundreds of wildfires that have burned western Russia have been reported in areas that were heavily contaminated by fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Experts fear that smoke from fires in the area has become radioactive.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin put out two wildfires with his own bare hands. No, actually, he used a firefighting plane. That he built himself. No, actually, he didn't build it. He fathered it by having sex with a jet.
Seven hundred people are dying in Moscow every day, according to a Russian health official, as the sweltering city is choked by smog from hundreds of peat bog fires. Depressing quote from a morgue worker: "The refrigerators are full." [Guardian]
What happened this weekend? Major flooding killed hundreds in Asia and displaced thousands in Europe, while Russia battled back against peat fires blanketing Moscow in smog. Here, check out some of the breathtaking pictures.
[Tourists in front of Moscow's St. Basil's Cathedral argue over whose idea it was to vacation in Russia as the country burns and smoke from raging wildfires blankets the capital. Image via AP]
Southern Russia is basically on fire. Yesterday alone, hundreds of fires broke out due to record heat and dry fields, and at least 28 people have died. But that didn't stop a few guys from driving through Hell on Earth.
Fires have been raging in Russia since last week due to record heat and dry fields and woodlands. Today, hundreds of new fires are raging and at least 28 people had died as of Wednesday. [AP]