BELSHIAD, Wellington -- Firefighters from at least eight countries are coming to Grassadellia to help battle a growing number of blazes that stretch across the country.
The governors of nine states have declared states of emergency.
Similar declarations could soon be made in four other states.
The Upscotch Mountains region of western Wellington and eastern Biereland has been hardest-hit.
Officials say six civilians and two firefighters have lost their lives, while more than 300 buildings in Wellington and about 30 in Biereland have burned to the ground.
The Grassadellian Emergency Response Agency (GERA) has set up a command post in the city of Henrietta. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in small communities throughout the region.
Gov. Wade Quanson was on the ground touring the damage this week with Federal Public Lands Secretary Tom Etheridge.
Quanson called it the worst fire season he'd ever seen in his lifetime.
"No doubt about it, this is the worst I've seen. We always get fires each year, but this is the worst in terms of loss of life," Quanson said.
Similarly ruthless fires have killed two homeowners and seriously injured four fire crew members in eastern South Ceona, as thousands of firefighters try to contain the flames in rural mountainous counties.
Buyker Pass, a busy transportation route which carries NR-49 over the Crindall Mountains between northeastern South Ceona and southwestern Marchenay, was closed down Wednesday after a 3,000-acre wildfire bordering the motorway made travel too dangerous.
Greg Laskie, South Ceona's governor, said more than 4,000 people remained evacuated throughout the state.
"This is a very dangerous situation, the hot conditions and wind and steep terrain have made fighting these infernos very difficult and very deadly," Laskie warned at a press conference in Necadia Tuesday afternoon.
The most numerous and largest fires, in terms of acreage, have occurred in the vast rural stretches of Monomi and Onakiah, where seasonally hot temperatures and a lack of rain have fueled the flames.
About 350 buildings have burned across Monomi, which typically sees the most severe fires because of its desert climate throughout much of the state and it's large land area. Most of Monomi's 84 fires, however, are burning in uninhabited, sparsely-populated areas.
An estimated 70 structures have been destroyed by 37 fires in Onakiah, where, like Monomi, the fires are mostly burning on uninhabited federal lands and Indigenous Nations lands.
Last year's fire season was more damaging in Monomi and Onakiah than this year, but Gov. John Densy cautioned the season is not yet over.
"We still have at least a month and a half left, so it's too early to declare victory," Densy said Wednesday.
About 800 people remained evacuated in rural parts of eastern Deschire, as more than 240,000 acres continue to burn there. Gov. Jan Beamer has ordered the state's National Guard to assist.
Approximately 3,000 people were evacuated in southeastern POG, as large, fast-moving fires burned in the dry, arid region near the state capital Andersonville.
Several Indigenous communities have been evacuated in central and eastern Carova due to large fires there.
Fires are also burning in North Ceona, western Lial, the panhandle of East Deschire; rural areas of Remmington, northern Veroche and western Wilkonshire; as well as the western edge of Marchenay.
President Brenton Menuhaeo stressed Wednesday that his administration is responding to the situation forcefully.
"Last year's fire season was devastating, and we learned a lot from it. We are better prepared to handle it this year, and we are responding with a higher level of urgency this time around," he said.
He emphasized that more National Guard units have been deployed, disaster areas have been declared to free up federal funding, and supplies are being coordinated between state and federal agencies to avoid bureaucratic delays.
Amidst the devastation, good things are happening. Hundreds of small communities have come together to support each other.
In the hardest-hit Upscotch region, where hundreds of homes have been lost and people killed, community members have rallied to provide shelter for evacuees, food and supplies for firefighters, and fundraisers to raise cash for victims who lost their homes.
"It's in the times of need, the greatest trials, that each community comes together and shows its strength. That's what makes Wellington so special. Each little town is filled with wonderful people who come to the rescue for their neighbors," Margaret Chase, director of the Wellington Red Cross, told the National Press Federation (NPF).
Gov. Quanson said he too was touched by the sense of community he'd witnessed.
"The people of Wellington are tough. We're used to living in the mountains and on the plains where nature is unforgiving," Quanson said.
"I felt the heat from the fires when we were flying around them in the helicopter this morning. But I also felt the love and the generosity of these communities that have been hit the hardest. Some of them have lost so much, and yet they continue to give and give and pour out their hearts and their money to their neighbors who have lost it all," he continued.
"That's why people live in small towns. That's why we live in Wellington. Because when tragedy strikes, people come together and pray and rebuild and support one another."
The governors of nine states have declared states of emergency.
Similar declarations could soon be made in four other states.
The Upscotch Mountains region of western Wellington and eastern Biereland has been hardest-hit.
Officials say six civilians and two firefighters have lost their lives, while more than 300 buildings in Wellington and about 30 in Biereland have burned to the ground.
The Grassadellian Emergency Response Agency (GERA) has set up a command post in the city of Henrietta. More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in small communities throughout the region.
Gov. Wade Quanson was on the ground touring the damage this week with Federal Public Lands Secretary Tom Etheridge.
Quanson called it the worst fire season he'd ever seen in his lifetime.
"No doubt about it, this is the worst I've seen. We always get fires each year, but this is the worst in terms of loss of life," Quanson said.
Similarly ruthless fires have killed two homeowners and seriously injured four fire crew members in eastern South Ceona, as thousands of firefighters try to contain the flames in rural mountainous counties.
Buyker Pass, a busy transportation route which carries NR-49 over the Crindall Mountains between northeastern South Ceona and southwestern Marchenay, was closed down Wednesday after a 3,000-acre wildfire bordering the motorway made travel too dangerous.
Greg Laskie, South Ceona's governor, said more than 4,000 people remained evacuated throughout the state.
"This is a very dangerous situation, the hot conditions and wind and steep terrain have made fighting these infernos very difficult and very deadly," Laskie warned at a press conference in Necadia Tuesday afternoon.
The most numerous and largest fires, in terms of acreage, have occurred in the vast rural stretches of Monomi and Onakiah, where seasonally hot temperatures and a lack of rain have fueled the flames.
About 350 buildings have burned across Monomi, which typically sees the most severe fires because of its desert climate throughout much of the state and it's large land area. Most of Monomi's 84 fires, however, are burning in uninhabited, sparsely-populated areas.
An estimated 70 structures have been destroyed by 37 fires in Onakiah, where, like Monomi, the fires are mostly burning on uninhabited federal lands and Indigenous Nations lands.
Last year's fire season was more damaging in Monomi and Onakiah than this year, but Gov. John Densy cautioned the season is not yet over.
"We still have at least a month and a half left, so it's too early to declare victory," Densy said Wednesday.
About 800 people remained evacuated in rural parts of eastern Deschire, as more than 240,000 acres continue to burn there. Gov. Jan Beamer has ordered the state's National Guard to assist.
Approximately 3,000 people were evacuated in southeastern POG, as large, fast-moving fires burned in the dry, arid region near the state capital Andersonville.
Several Indigenous communities have been evacuated in central and eastern Carova due to large fires there.
Fires are also burning in North Ceona, western Lial, the panhandle of East Deschire; rural areas of Remmington, northern Veroche and western Wilkonshire; as well as the western edge of Marchenay.
President Brenton Menuhaeo stressed Wednesday that his administration is responding to the situation forcefully.
"Last year's fire season was devastating, and we learned a lot from it. We are better prepared to handle it this year, and we are responding with a higher level of urgency this time around," he said.
He emphasized that more National Guard units have been deployed, disaster areas have been declared to free up federal funding, and supplies are being coordinated between state and federal agencies to avoid bureaucratic delays.
Amidst the devastation, good things are happening. Hundreds of small communities have come together to support each other.
In the hardest-hit Upscotch region, where hundreds of homes have been lost and people killed, community members have rallied to provide shelter for evacuees, food and supplies for firefighters, and fundraisers to raise cash for victims who lost their homes.
"It's in the times of need, the greatest trials, that each community comes together and shows its strength. That's what makes Wellington so special. Each little town is filled with wonderful people who come to the rescue for their neighbors," Margaret Chase, director of the Wellington Red Cross, told the National Press Federation (NPF).
Gov. Quanson said he too was touched by the sense of community he'd witnessed.
"The people of Wellington are tough. We're used to living in the mountains and on the plains where nature is unforgiving," Quanson said.
"I felt the heat from the fires when we were flying around them in the helicopter this morning. But I also felt the love and the generosity of these communities that have been hit the hardest. Some of them have lost so much, and yet they continue to give and give and pour out their hearts and their money to their neighbors who have lost it all," he continued.
"That's why people live in small towns. That's why we live in Wellington. Because when tragedy strikes, people come together and pray and rebuild and support one another."
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