In San Juan Alotenango, Guatemala the Fuego Volcano was slowly erupting, spewing ash and lahar across neighbourhoods. Hundreds of residents have been evacuated from surrounding regions, as well as multiple school and road closures, with tens of thousands more evacuations expected.

Early January 7th, the Santa Ana winds sparked wildfires throughout many areas of LA County. Most devastating have been the Palisades and Eaton Fires, destroying thousands of acres of land and thousands of homes & structures.

In July 2024, Bulgaria faced the threat of about 40 wildfires around the country, with more areas being affected and evacuated every day. The GEM Europe team deployed from their Polish warehouse, bringing supplies for first responders & evacuated residents.

California’s biggest fire of the year is had caused extreme devastation throughout Butte, Plumas, Shasta, and Tehama County. The fire had burned more than the entire size of Los Angeles, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses.

The Canadian province of Alberta has experienced 122 wildfires in 2024 already. As of late, the historic town of Jasper suffered tremendous damage from an out of control wildfire, burning over 79,000 acres. Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate.

The Smokehouse Creek Wildfire was Texas’ 2nd largest fire it’s history. Multiple major fires that have burned hundreds of thousands of acres, prompting evacuation orders in several counties. GEM is providing pallets of disaster relief throughout the affected regions to assist all those affected.

In February 2024, Chile experienced their worst disaster in over a decade. Severe forest fires devastated the Valparaiso region, having burnt nearly 64,000 acres and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Colombia declared a disaster situation in January 2024 due to many wildfires raging across several parts of the country, as the president warned the conditions could get worse. One hundred and seventy four municipalities in the country were affected.

The GEM team worked alongside the HARP team, offering resources & critical support to all those affected by the recent Oregon Road Fire, in Elk, Washington. BStrong cash cards were also given out to affected community members.

The Lahaina fires in August 2023 completely devastated the Lahaina community on Maui, displacing thousands and taking the lives of over 100 people. The strong winds and dry conditions spread the fire rapidly through the historic neighborhood.

In July 2023, our GEM Europe team deployed to Greece, responding to the 90 active fires within the country. In coordination with local and foreign first responders, we worked to reach the most affected communities and distribute supplies.

Den 28. januar blev et lejlighedskompleks med 75 lejligheder i Miami Gardens ødelagt af en brand. Mere end halvdelen af boligerne er fuldstændig ødelagt, mens resten er ubeboelige på grund af ekstreme brand-, røg- og vandskader.

I slutningen af juli brændte Oak Fire og McKinney Fire i hele Californien med hundredvis af ødelagte bygninger og mindst fire dødsfald i forbindelse med brandene.

Det samlede antal skovbrande i EU siden begyndelsen af 2022 er næsten fire gange så stort som 15-årsgennemsnittet for samme periode.

Over 1.000 brandmænd, der blev støttet af bulldozere og fly, kæmpede lørdag mod den største aktive naturbrand i USA, efter at kraftig vind havde presset den over nogle af begrænsningslinjerne.

Den 9. januar 2022 var et defekt rumvarmelegeme årsagen til en brand i en lejlighedsejendom i Bronx, som kostede 17 mennesker, herunder otte børn, livet, hvilket gjorde det til en af de værste brande i byen.

Fra 13. juli til 25. oktober 2021 var Dixie- og Caldor-branden en enorm naturbrand, der ramte flere amter i Californien. Branden rasede gennem hele byer som Greenville og efterlod hundredvis af mennesker strandet og hjemløse.

Den 16. januar 2021 ødelagde en brand Tuluksaks eneste kilde til rent, rindende vand i dette stammesamfund i Alaska.

CalFire har rapporteret, at Californien har mistet 3,1 millioner acres eller omkring 12.546 km2 til skovbrande siden begyndelsen af året. Der er i øjeblikket 29 større brande i gang.

Vildbrande har brændt 1.500.000 hektar skov og adskillige historiske samfund og efterladt hele byer i aske, hvilket har fået over 500.000 mennesker til at evakuere og en stadig voksende liste over savnede personer.

Den 9. september 2020 raserede en enorm brand en overfyldt flygtningelejr på den græske ø Lesbos. Det betød, at over 13.000 asylansøgere stod uden husly.

I juni 2019 brændte over 18 millioner hektar og ødelagde over 5.900 bygninger og 2.800 hjem i Australien. Ud over menneskelige dødsfald blev millioner af dyr dræbt.

I 2019 var der en kraftig stigning i antallet af skovbrande i Amazonas med mere end 906.000 berørte hektar i Amazonas regnskov og Amazonasbiomet i Brasilien, Bolivia, Paraguay og Peru.

I 2018 var skovbrandsæsonen den mest dødbringende og ødelæggende, der nogensinde er registreret i Californien. Mere end 7.639 brande brændte et område på 1.893.913 acres og forårsagede skader for mere end 3,5 mia. dollars.