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Fire

This Month

Firefighters watch as water is dropped on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon.

‘Unimaginable terror’: LA wildfires threaten Bel Air

Evacuation orders cover important cultural institutions, including the Getty Centre and the University of California, Los Angeles. The death toll now stands at 16.

  • Updated
  • Michelle Ma, John Gittelsohn and Amy Graff
LA fires water drop

Elon Musk blames female firefighters, DEI for LA disaster

The billionaire’s use of X to stoke partisan outrage about the disaster underscores how the platform has transformed into a megaphone for his political views.

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  • Pranshu Verma, Will Oremus and Trisha Thadani
As dawn breaks firefighters continue to battle wind and fire as homes go up in flames in Malibu along Pacific Coast.

How a ‘warrior’ brain surgeon saved his street from fires and looters

It was a scenario the 62-year-old had been preparing for: he had trained, sourced the fire hoses, and briefed his son and neighbour about the course of action.

  • Susie Coen
A statue stands amid damage from the Palisades fire last week.

The hottest year on record sparks fears of a ‘dangerous new era’

Temperatures broke another record in 2024 and experts warn this could bring faster wildfires, bigger storms and more extreme weather.

  • David Gelles and Austyn Gaffney
A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire behind a home with Christmas lights in Mandeville Canyon, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

In Trump’s fantasy world, fish set fire to Los Angeles

It’s always worth examining whether fire and water management could have been improved. But this isn’t what the misinformation spread by climate deniers aims to achieve.

  • Lara Williams
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A firefighter monitors the blaze in Mandeville Canyon.

Australian man dies after flames engulf Malibu home

British-born Australian citizen Rory Sykes, 32, died after flames engulfed his self-contained cottage on a family property in Mount Malibu.

  • Suzanne Simonot
A person walks amid the destruction left behind by the Palisades Fire.

Calmer winds help Los Angeles firefighters as death toll hits 10

While conditions improved, three major fires continue to burn in Los Angeles and San Diego residents were on edge.

  • Jorge Garcia and Rollo Ross
LA fires GIF of Donald Trump, Gavin Newsom, damaged properties and fires raging.

‘Like an atomic bomb’: LA fire costs surge to $240b

The fire between Santa Monica and Malibu on the city’s western flank and the one in the east already rank as the most destructive in Los Angeles’ history.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston
California fires and damage GIF.

More evacuated as worst fire in LA history spreads to Hollywood Hills

Of the five fires burning across Los Angeles only one has been brought under control, as early estimates put initial damage at about $90 billion.

  • Updated
  • Matthew Cranston

December 2024

Grampians bushfire burns on Saturday.

Race to control giant bushfire after it triples in size

The blaze in Victoria’s Grampians National Park has razed 34,000 hectares and continues to grow.

  • Holly Hales and Aaron Bunch
A fire ripped through Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne on Friday morning.

Hunt for synagogue fire suspects who ‘spread accelerant with a broom’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says police believe the intention was to cause maximum damage in the Jewish place of worship.

  • Lucy Slade and Gus McCubbing

May 2024

Force Fire is expecting to make more than $100 million revenue in the 2025 financial year.

Anacacia Capital sparks auction at Force Fire Group; taps Greenstone

FFG is expecting post $106.4 million revenue and $8.7 million EBITDA in the 2025 financial year.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

April 2024

Fire and smoke rise out of the Old Stock Exchange in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Horror fire engulfs Copenhagen’s historic stock exchange

Shocked passers-by raced to save artwork and treasures from the 400-year-old stock exchange building as its spire collapsed in flames.

  • Tom Little and Isabelle Yr Carlsson

March 2023

NSW requires landlords to check smoke alarms for their renters once a year.

Merchant Place hangs for-sale sign at Smoke Alarms Australia

Mid-market private equity investor Merchant Place Investments has hired Miles Advisory to find a new owner for its B2B services business Smoke Alarms Australia.

  • Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Indonesian rescue team carry a victim of fire at a neighbourhood in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Jakarta oil depot fire kills 15, another 16 missing

Indonesian rescuers and firefighters searched for possible victims under the rubble of charred houses and buildings after a large fire broke out at a fuel storage depot in the capital.

  • Tatan Syuflana and Niniek Karmini
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October 2022

Andrew Forrest is investing millions of dollars in a moonshot aimed at fireproofing Australia.

Forrest joins former NASA boss in fire fight

Andrew Forrest is investing millions of dollars in a moonshot that is aimed at fireproofing Australia.

  • Brad Thompson

July 2022

A new national fire danger rating sign with four categories will replace the current six category signs after research showed people did not act on them.

National fire warning overhaul highlights dangers

New national simplified fire warning signs will be rolled out ahead of summer, powered by new more accurate fire behaviour modelling developed by the Bureau of Meteorology.

  • Tom Burton

January 2022

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal fire at an apartment building in the Bronx.

Nineteen killed in New York City’s deadliest fire in decades

The toll was the worst in the city since 87 died in a fire at a Bronx nightclub in 1990, and is an early test for the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams.

  • Ashley Southall, Grace Ashford and Chelsia Rose Marcius

December 2021

Firefighters  at the fire-damaged front entrance of Old Parliament House following a protest in Canberra on Thursday.

Morrison ‘appalled’ by Old Parliament House fire, no arrests made

Police are yet to find any criminal matters related to a fire at Old Parliament House with the Prime Minister calling for swift action on wrongdoers.

  • Updated
  • Finbar O'Mallon
Firefighters rescue people trapped by a blaze at the Hong Kong World Trade Centre.

Blaze traps hundreds in Hong Kong tower, 13 hospitalised

There were dramatic scenes as firefighters raced to save people trapped on the roof of the World Trade Centre in Hong Kong.

  • ZEN SOO

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/fire-5xa