Environment News

CALGARY — Alberta declared a state of emergency Saturday due to the growing threat of wildfires that have forced more than 24,000 people from their homes.

After decades of protests against a long-standing proposal to build an airport in Pickering, Ont., opponents of the project are optimistic it will soon be abandoned for good.

Several thousand people have been ordered to leave their homes as more than 100 wildfires burn across Alberta. "Everybody's out, everybody's alive, nobody's injured," said Steven Lacroix, managing director of Alberta Emergency Management Agency.

Heavy rain sweeping across southern and central British Columbia has intensified an already difficult flood situation along numerous rivers, creeks and streams.

HOUSTON (AP) — Fire erupted at a petrochemical plant in the Houston area Friday, sending nine workers to a hospital and causing a huge plume of smoke visible for miles. Emergency responders were called to help around 3 p.m.

HONOLULU (AP) — An investigation found that a spill of about 1,300 gallons of fire suppressant at a fuel facility in Hawaii was caused by a maintenance contractor improperly installing an air vacuum valve, U.S. military officials said Friday.

Several scaleless fish with fanged jaws and huge eyes that can be found more than a mile deep in the ocean have washed up along a roughly 200-mile (322-kilometer) stretch of Oregon coastline, and it's unclear why, scientists and experts said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agency that regulates pipelines announced new rules Friday aimed at reducing leaks of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from a network of nearly 3 million miles of natural gas pipelines that crisscross the country.

ST. PAUL. Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Legislature is toiling away with only two full weeks left in a productive 2023 session.

REGINA — Molly Herman says all she could do was cry as she and her three young children fled from La Loche, Sask., early Friday morning as a nearby wildfire threatens the northern community.