Sarawak Haze Emergency and Arrests in the Chelan Hills Fire

The day's biggest air-quality story is on Borneo, where smoke from fires in Indonesia pushed one Malaysian town past its emergency threshold. Closer to home, investigators named a cause for a deadly July fire in Washington, and Southern California brought back two familiar aircraft ahead of Santa Ana season.

Malaysia declares an emergency over cross-border haze

Malaysia declared an emergency Friday in Serian, a town of just under 90,000 in Sarawak state, after its Air Pollutant Index reached 521. Sarawak's capital, Kuching, read 311, which the environment department classes as hazardous. The Associated Press reports that officials have said a reading above 500 can allow nonessential work and outdoor activities to be halted, and that schools already close above 200.

The smoke comes from forest and peat fires in neighboring Indonesia, a recurring seasonal problem that also reaches Brunei and Singapore. Indonesia's Forestry Ministry detected 717 hot spots nationwide since August 1, including 103 in the past 24 hours, and has suspended the business licenses of five companies over alleged fires in Kalimantan. The haze has also reached the Philippines, where classes were suspended in metropolitan Manila and more than a dozen northern provinces.

Fireworks blamed for the Chelan Hills fire; one arrest

Douglas County Sheriff Tyler Caille said Thursday that six adults are suspected of setting off illegal fireworks on July 4 that started the Chelan Hills wildfire in Central Washington. The fire burned 15 square miles, destroyed 19 homes, and killed one resident, 69-year-old Robert Lister, who died in his car while trying to escape. Six firefighters were injured.

Deputies arrested an 18-year-old suspect in Kent on Wednesday, and the Spokesman-Review reports that warrants are being prepared for five others. Caille said video from shortly after midnight showed fireworks being set off from the back of a truck near Chelan Falls, with sparks landing in dry grass. Wind gusts up to 50 mph then pushed the fire across miles of grass, sage and timber.

How the Ross fire compares to past Texas fires

The Ross fire in North Texas has burned tens of thousands of acres since it began last week. The Dallas Morning News compared it against Texas A&M Forest Service records and found that by most measures it is not as severe as the Smokehouse Creek, East Amarillo Complex or Bastrop County Complex fires.

What stands out is how it has behaved. Forest Service public information officer Adam Turner said the fire's 12-day duration is unusual and its early behavior was "not within our realm of normalcy," with flames reaching up to 100 feet above juniper trees that stand 20 to 30 feet tall.

Super Scoopers return to Los Angeles County

The Los Angeles County Fire Department has taken delivery of two Canadian Super Scoopers, Quebec 1 and Quebec 2, on loan from Quebec for the coming fire season. CBS News reports that Quebec has sent the amphibious aircraft to the county for 33 years. Each one scoops about 1,600 gallons of water from a lake, river or ocean while skimming the surface, then drops and refills without returning to an airport.

LAFD Chief Anthony Marrone said above-average rainfall this year produced new vegetation, and a hot summer has since dried it out. September and October are when Santa Ana winds raise fire risk across Southern California.

A deer cull on Catalina Island, framed as fire prevention

A Los Angeles County judge tentatively rejected an attempt to block the Catalina Island Conservancy's plan to cull roughly 2,000 mule deer over five years, with about 200 expected to be removed in the next two months. The New York Post reports that the deer, introduced about a century ago for sport hunting, eat native shrubs and let invasive grasses spread.

Plant biologist Anna L. Jacobsen of California State University, Bakersfield said those grasses ignite more easily and carry flames faster than the native plants they replace. Wildfire specialist Max Moritz said removing the deer was the most practical option; the conservancy considered contraception and sterilization but concluded they would not work at that scale.

Sources

Sarawak town chokes as haze pushes air pollution past Malaysia's emergency threshold — The Associated Press
Fireworks caused Chelan fire; 1 of 6 suspects arrested, sheriff says — Spokane Spokesman-Review
How the Ross wildfire compares to 2026, historical Texas fires on record — The Dallas Morning News
Canadian Super Scoopers arrive for Los Angeles County wildfire fighting efforts — CBS News
California to kill 2K mule deer on Catalina Island to prevent wildfires — New York Post

Canairy aggregates publicly reported air-quality and wildfire news and summarizes it in plain English, with links to the original sources. This is educational information, not medical or emergency advice. In a wildfire or air-quality emergency, follow guidance from local authorities.