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Wildfires in Fort Nelson BC Expands to 17 Square Miles Forcing Evacuations

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Wildfire in Fort Nelson BC
Wildfire in Fort Nelson BC: File Image

Authorities in British Columbia Canada are urging all remaining residents in Fort Nelson to leave immediately, despite improving weather conditions, after many were already evacuated due to a fast-growing wildfires.

The blaze, which started Friday, almost doubled in size the following day, reaching about 17 square kilometers (4,200 acres). BC Wildfire Service maps showed the fire burning just a few kilometers (miles) west of Fort Nelson’s city limits.

Fort Nelson is located in the far northeastern corner of British Columbia, about 1,600 kilometers (995 miles) from Vancouver. Fort Nelson and the Fort Nelson Indian Reserve have a combined population of about 3,000.

In 2023, Canada witnessed a record number of wildfires that also caused choking smoke in parts of the U.S. and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate across British Columbia.

Authorities in Alberta also issued an alert about a wildfire nearly 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) southwest of the oil sands city of Fort McMurray that could impact visibility on highways in some areas. No evacuation order has been given so far for the major Canadian oil city.

wildfire alberta

In 2016, more than 80,000 people evacuated from Fort McMurray, in the heart of Canada’s oil sands, as a fire torched 1,600 homes and other buildings. The high winds pushed smoke across Alberta on Saturday, putting the city of Edmonton under an air quality advisory with hazard levels rated at 10-plus — or “very high risk” — forecast.

Meteorologists are not anticipating rain and have advised people to stay indoors.

Online footage shared by locals from the Fort Nelson wildfire showed thick plumes of smoke rising high into the sky, with houses in the foreground. In some photos, haze seemed to cover wide areas.

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nation issued a joint statement warning people choosing to stay that “emergency medical services are not available, nor are groceries or other amenities.”

The municipality mayor, Rob Fraser, said most of the residents in and around Fort Nelson have been evacuated, adding that police were going door to door to ensure everyone got out.

Health authorities said Fort Nelson General Hospital has been safely evacuated and closed until further notice.

Wildfires in British Columbia

Annual Wildfires in British Columbia

Wildfires are not new to British Columbia; they occur every year. Every year, hundreds of fires break out, some caused by lightning strikes, others by human negligence. As the temperature warms, fire seasons get longer and more intense. Without quick action, wildfires will only intensify, according to experts.

Combating these infernos comes at a startling cost. British Columbia spends millions of dollars deploying troops, aircraft, and equipment. Fires devastate wildlife habitats and emit enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Economies suffer as tourism declines and companies close during evacuations.

Regardless of the obstacles, BC fights hard. Firefighters have intensive training. Advanced modeling predicts fire behavior. Public education increases awareness. Nonetheless, the fires continue to spread, fueled by heat and drought. Wildfires have become British Columbia’s yearly summer scourge, and there is no end in sight.

 

Geoff Thomas is a seasoned staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. With his sharp writing skills and deep understanding of SEO, he consistently delivers high-quality, engaging content that resonates with readers. Thomas' articles are well-researched, informative, and written in a clear, concise style that keeps audiences hooked. His ability to craft compelling narratives while seamlessly incorporating relevant keywords has made him a valuable asset to the VORNews team.

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Trump Fears Biden Moving the US Closer to Nuclear War with Russia

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Biden Moving the US Closer to Nuclear War
A military aide carries the nuclear football: Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump stated in an interview that he was far more concerned about the possibility of nuclear war than global warming in an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke with the Fox News host Sean Hanity on the election and his recent guilty verdict in a New York court over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, but he also explored what a second Trump term might entail, particularly on foreign policy.

Trump, who has previously discounted the possible impact of global warming, brought up the parallel while critiquing President Joe Biden’s comments on climate change.

He said: “I love this country. I don’t want to see this country get into a nuclear war and be so badly damaged. What we say won’t matter, this place won’t matter, nothing will matter because practically nothing is going to be here any more. The level of power in weaponry, that’s real weaponry. That’s worse than the weaponry we were talking about a little while ago.

“This is obliteration, maybe world obliteration, and we have a man is not capable of discussing it. The only global warming that matters to me is nuclear global warming. Because that’s the real deal.

Biden taking us closer to nuclear war

“He [Biden] said it’s an existential threat. And he doesn’t know why! What is it, it’s weather. And in a certain way, and in a very powerful way, I’m an environmentalist. I want clean air, I want clean water. But this is not an existential threat.

“Tomorrow, we could have a war that could be so devastating that you could never recover from it. Nobody can, the whole world won’t be able to recover from it. And he’s talking about something happening 400 years from now.”

During the 2024 campaign, Trump has been particularly critical of Biden’s foreign policy, claiming that the Russia-Ukraine crisis would not have occurred if he had won a second term in 2020. He has also stated that if elected president again, he will be able to resolve the conflict in less than 24 hours.

More than two years of conflict in Ukraine have heightened fears of a nuclear clash between Russia and NATO members that support Kyiv.

High-ranking Russian officials have hinted at the potential of a nuclear battle, and Poland has offered to host NATO nuclear weapons following Moscow’s delivery of tactical nuclear armaments to Belarus, a crucial Kremlin ally.

US is failing to maintain its nuclear arsenal

Meanwhile, according to the Heritage Foundation, the United States’ ability to discourage adversaries from attacking us and our closest allies and partners has reached a low point since the Cold War ended.

China and Russia’s nuclear arsenals and ambitions are expanding unabated, while America’s ineffective response leaves it vulnerable to blackmail. Despite a clear and expanding list of dangers, the United States is failing to maintain its nuclear weapons or plan for the future.

These failures will have serious implications if not corrected immediately. President Joe Biden must make restoring the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrent his top priority.

The president should direct the Pentagon to conduct formal feasibility and utility studies on a number of new nuclear systems, including potentially hypersonic nuclear delivery systems, ground-launched options, and variations on existing air- and sea-launched cruise missiles.

He should then urge the secretaries of state and defense to begin talks and planning to increase the United States’ nuclear force footprint, including the prospective stationing of nonstrategic nuclear weapons in the Pacific, major Asian countries, and Europe.

Deterring a strategic attack on the United States is the government’s primary objective. There is no bigger mission, and America’s nuclear arsenal is its most powerful weapons of deterrence.

Source: NewsWeek, Heritage Foundation

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Microsoft Delays Controversial AI Recall Feature On New Windows Computers

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Microsoft | AP News Image

REDMOND, Wash. – Customers will begin receiving new laptops running Microsoft Windows next week, minus a key function called Recall that raised privacy and cybersecurity worries.

At a showcase event last month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hailed the new Recall function, calling it a step closer to artificial intelligence robots that “instantly see us, hear, reason about our intent and our surroundings.”

microsoft

Microsoft | AP News Image

Microsoft Delays Controversial AI Recall Feature On New Windows Computers

To help someone recall what they did previously, Recall regularly shoots pictures of a computer screen to provide Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot with a “photographic memory” of a person’s virtual activities.

Nadella declared in May, “We’re entering this new era where computers not only understand us but can actually anticipate what we want and our intent.”

microsoft

Microsoft | AP News Image

Microsoft Delays Controversial AI Recall Feature On New Windows Computers

However, on Thursday the firm announced that it will be postponing a “broadly available” Recall preview that was scheduled to be available with new PCs beginning on Tuesday.

Initially, a limited group of people who are a part of the Windows Insider software testing program will receive it. According to a statement by Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and devices, Pavan Davaluri, those knowledgeable early adopters will “ensure the experience meets our high standards for quality and security.”

The software behemoth debuted a new line of AI-enabled personal computers at its yearly Build event last month, facing increased competition from Big Tech competitors in the pitching of generative AI technology that can create images, write documents, and function as a lifelike personal assistant at home or at work.

microsoft

Microsoft | AP News Image

Microsoft Delays Controversial AI Recall Feature On New Windows Computers

Along with new high-end PCs produced by Microsoft partners Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung, the new AI capabilities in Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will be available on Microsoft’s Surface range of devices.

SOURCE – (AP)

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Tony Award-Winning Broadway Producer Ron Simons Dies At 63

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Ron Simons | AP News Image

New York – Ron Simons was an actor who became a powerful movie and stage producer, garnering four Tony Awards and having multiple films chosen for the Sundance Film Festival. He was sixty-three.

SimonSays Entertainment, his production firm with headquarters in New York, announced Ron’s passing on Wednesday but provided no other information.

The production firm announced on Facebook, “It is with heavy hearts that we share the unexpected passing of our beloved, blessed, and highly favored friend, Ronald Keith Simons.”

simons

Ron Simons | AP news Image

Tony Award-Winning Broadway Producer Ron Simons Dies At 63

Producing “Porgy and Bess” (with Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald), “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (with Jefferson Mays), “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” (with Sigourney Weaver), and “Jitney” (with John Douglas Thompson) brought Ron Tony Awards.

He also co-produced “Hughie,” which starred Forest Whitaker, “The Gin Game,” which starred Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones, “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations,” an all-Black version of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the revival of “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” and the original “Thoughts of a Colored Man.”

Following George Floyd’s passing and the first full season since Ron was happy to see Broadway deliver one of its most varied Tony slates.

simons

Ron Simons | Micra Image

Tony Award-Winning Broadway Producer Ron Simons Dies At 63

“I have never seen so many people of color represented in all Tony Award categories,” he said to The Associated Press. That impressed and lifted me.

Filmwise, Ron produced “Night Catches Us,” starring Kerry Washington, Anthony Mackie, and Wendell Pierce; “Gun Hill Road,” starring Esai Morales and Judy Reyes; “Blue Caprice,” starring Isaiah Washington and Tequan Richmond; and “Mother of George,” starring Danai Gurira.

After graduating from Columbia College with a bachelor’s degree, Columbia Business School with an MBA, and the University of Washington with an MFA, Ron worked for Microsoft as a product manager before deciding to shift his path and go into entertainment.

simons

Ron Simons | CBC News Image

Tony Award-Winning Broadway Producer Ron Simons Dies At 63

As an actor, he debuted at the Classical Theatre of Harlem, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Along with small screen roles in “The Resident,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” and “Law & Order: SVU,” he starred in the movies “27 Dresses” and “Mystery Team.”

SOURCE – (AP)

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