Bush fires forcing rare mountain gorillas to flee to DRC

October 4th, 2009 MANILA - At least 17 people were killed when a powerful typhoon pummelled the north-eastern Philippines, cutting off power and communication in at least five provinces, officials said Sunday. Authorities said damage reports were piling up after typhoon Parma swept through extreme northern provinces overnight.

August 23rd, 2009 Athens suburb threatened by fire evacuatedATHENS, Greece — Authorities have ordered the evacuation of an Athens suburb that is threatened by huge wildfires outside the Greek capital. Municipal officials say all 10,000 residents of Agios Stefanos, 23 kilometers (14 miles) north of the capital, have been instructed to leave their homes after the fires reached residential areas Sunday.

August 23rd, 2009 Thousands evacuated as fires reach Athens suburbsATHENS, Greece — Fire burned through suburbs north of Athens early Sunday, destroying homes and forcing thousands to flee in nighttime evacuations, fire service and local officials said. Authorities announced they were evacuating the suburb of Agios Stefanos, 23 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Athens, as flames closed in on the town center.

August 5th, 2009 Firefighters battling wildfires in western CanadaVANCOUVER, British Columbia — Firefighters saved a western Canada town from a raging wildfire as they continued Wednesday to battle blazes that have forced more than 5,000 people to flee their homes in the region. Firefighters stopped a fire only a few hundred yards (meters) from Lillooet, 105 miles (170 kilometers) northeast of Vancouver, by using a controlled burn to contain the flames.

August 4th, 2009 Lightning-sparked fires in Shasta County growingREDDING, Calif. — Fire officials say a series of lightning-sparked fires in Shasta County grew six-fold overnight and have now burned more than 11 square miles in a sparsely populated area.

August 4th, 2009 3,000 evacuated after fires in British ColumbiaVANCOUVER, British Columbia — Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated since Sunday and 85 percent of British Columbia remains on high alert as lighting strikes and tinder-dry forests continue to fuel wildfires on Canada's Pacific coast. British Columbia Forest Service spokeswoman Alyson Couch said Monday conditions remain hot and dry.

August 4th, 2009 VANCOUVER - Nearly 5,000 Canadians have had to flee raging forest and bush fires in the western province of British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun reported Tuesday. Amidst a spell of extremely hot, dry weather, between 500 and 700 fires were burning in the province on any day, with 100 to 150 new ones starting each day, according to fire information officer Radha Fisher.

July 21st, 2009 Wildfires ease in British ColumbiaVANCOUVER, British Columbia — About 6,000 people who were forced to flee their homes because of wildfires ablaze over southern British Columbia are returning home. Firefighters have made progress in containing two of three forest fires covering about 2,900 acres (1,200 hectares) of land near West Kelowna, 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Vancouver.

July 20th, 2009 LONDON - Brit teenager Jamie Neale insists that the 12-day ordeal he went through after he was lost in the Australian bush is not a hoax. Neale, 19, has had to come to his own defence after experts cast doubts on his ability to survive sub-zero winter nights in the rugged Blue Mountains near Sydney without food or water.

July 20th, 2009 11,000 Canadian flee forest firesKELOWNA, British Columbia — About 11,000 residents of a subdivision threatened by a forest fire in southern British Columbia have been evacuated, officials said Sunday. Helicopters, air tankers and firefighters were attacking the 3.5-square-kilometer (1.35-square-mile) blaze raging behind the Glenrosa subdivision, some 275 kilometers (170 miles) east of Vancouver.

June 18th, 2009 Gorilla wields knife but not for warfareCALGARY, Alberta — It may look like gorilla warfare, but officials say the knife-wielding primate photographed by visitors to the Calgary Zoo had no violent intent. The photos show a gorilla, named Barika, clutching the blade and pointing it at another gorilla in her cage.

June 16th, 2009 Officials to warn Congress of beetle threatWASHINGTON — Officials from Rocky Mountain states are urging Congress to help them avert a potential catastrophe this summer as they grapple with millions of acres of beetle-ravaged pines that are prone to fire. The House Natural Resources Committee has scheduled a hearing Tuesday to hear from government and forestry experts about the threat from the mountain pine beetle.

June 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Former US Vice President Dick Cheney says that former President George W. Bush did not want to be the one who "pulled the plug" on General Motors, and instead, decided to pass on that responsibility to his successor Barack Obama.

May 9th, 2009 Calif. wildfires force 6,000 more to evacuateSANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Strong winds have kicked up in Santa Barbara, pushing a fierce wildfire farther to the west toward homes and forcing thousands more to flee the area.

April 28th, 2009 Baby gorilla saved from trafficker in CongoGOMA, Congo — Authorities in eastern Congo have saved a baby gorilla from an animal trafficker who took it inside a plane hidden in a bag. Officials at Virunga National Park said Tuesday the gorilla suffered from dehydration after being put in the bottom of the bag for more than six hours.