President Joe Biden spoke Friday with governors of several western US states where severe wildfires are devastating communities, telling them the crisis highlights the urgent need for action to stem climate change.

In a teleconference from the White House, the president saluted the "heroes" fighting the 66 wildfires now burning across parts of the scorched western landscape, and said more resources must be used in fighting the blazes.

"They need more help," Biden said.

"We can't ignore how the overlapping and intertwined factors of extreme heat, prolonged drought and supercharged wildfire conditions are affecting the country," Biden told the governors of seven western states, including California, Oregon and Montana.

"Overlaying all of this is the necessity to successfully confront climate change."

Biden noted that since the last time he convened a meeting on wildfires one month ago, the burned acreage has doubled, to 3.4 million.

Several thousand firefighters are battling the blazes, often in dangerous conditions. At least two have died.

Some fires, including the Dixie blaze in northern California, have grown large enough that they are generating their own weather systems -- and authorities are warning the conditions could deteriorate.

Biden turned to the governors to express his support and ask what they need in terms of federal assistance.

"You have your hands full, man," he told Republican Governor Greg Gianforte of Montana, where 19 separate large-scale wildfires are raging.

At times, the video conference sounded more like a team of generals firming up battle plans.

"I think it's all about aggressive initial attack and getting more proactive in our forest management," Gianforte told Biden, saying clearing more brush, which acts as kindling, is critical for reducing the threat.

Biden noted that climate change has raised temperatures in forested lands, allowing certain tree-eating beetles to thrive and create huge tracts of dead trees.

"It's like, you know, dropping a match almost like in a pool of fuel," he said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the crises "transcend politics," and that the firefighting operations need "more boots on the ground" and more airtankers that can drop flame retardant chemicals on the fires.

Biden made a pitch for his infrastructure plan now before Congress, which reserves billions of dollars for wildfire management and forest protection.

Finland battles worst forest fire in 50 years
Helsinki (AFP) July 30, 2021 - Finland is battling its worst forest fire in half a century with some 300 hectares ravaged in five days in a northwestern valley during an exceptionally hot summer.

The fire began on Monday about 25 kilometres south of the small port town of Kalajoki in the Gulf of Bothnia.

"It's still burning, but it hasn't got bigger, it's limited to 300 hectares (nearly 750 acres)," Jarmo Haapanen, in charge of firefighting operations near Kalajoki, told AFP.

He said it would take a "minimum of one week, perhaps two or three weeks" for it to be put out completely.

"If climate change warms our summers like that, I'm sure it will happen more often," he warned.

Some 250 people, including army soldiers and four helicopters have been mobilised to douse the flames.

There have been no casualties so far as the area, about 500 kilometres (300 miles) north of the capital Helsinki, is sparsely populated.

Experts say this was the biggest fire in Finland since 1971 when a forest fire consumed 1,600 hectares.

Forest fires are rare in Nordic countries and are quickly brought under control. However a 2018 fire in Sweden spread to nearly 20,000 hectares.

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

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