After a week of wildfires raging through the town of Fort McMurray and the surrounding area, more than 500,000 acres of forest and 2,400 buildings have been destroyed in Alberta, Canada. Rachel Notley, Alberta's premier, said that 90% of Fort McMurray remains intact, though several neighborhoods were complete losses...While the last fires in town are put out, and infrastructure repaired, more than 80,000 residents will have to wait at least another two weeks before they can return. — The Atlantic
More on Archinect:Fire on 50th floor of Chicago's Hancock Center left five people injuredTrial by fire: man waits out raging wildfires in concrete homeFlying firefighters: the jetpack is quickly becoming a realityIn case of fire, use elevators View full entry
Citing a recent report from the Great Wall of China Society, the [Beijing Times] claims that more than 30% of the original structure has disappeared. Approximately 74.1% is poorly preserved, and only 8.2% is in good condition. While concerns about the wall’s condition have deepened in recent years, the study appears to be the first to actually quantify the problem. — Hyperallergic
More on Archinect:Paul Rudolph's Government Center won't be saved, despite preservationist pleasU.S. LGBTQ preservation group pushes to preserve more heritage sites at the national levelNew list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places keeps fragile memories alive View full entry
A new engineering report assessing the damage caused to the Amtrak-owned Hudson River and East River tunnels in New York City by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 recommends a phased process of maintenance works, which will require taking individual tunnel tubes out of service for extended periods. — railjournal.com
Several readers are reporting that a snowblower has accidentally knocked into and shattered one of the large glass panels at Apple’s iconic 5th avenue Apple Store. That’s one of 15 panels, and those large slices of glass were installed a couple of years ago. — 9to5mac.com
Authorities in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, have fought a major blaze at a landmark building designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer.
A large plume of smoke billowed from the Latin America Memorial, a cultural centre which hosts an art gallery, an auditorium and other facilities.
— bbc.co.uk
One of France's most important landmarks of modernist architecture, La Cité Radieuse housing estate in Marseille, built by the architect Le Corbusier, has been damaged by fire.
Fire services fought for over 12 hours to put out a blaze that began on Thursday afternoon in a first floor flat in the nine-storey concrete complex which is protected by special heritage status in France.
— guardian.co.uk
The fire broke out early Wednesday morning in the institute's architecture school on Östermalmsgatan in central Stockholm with the roof of the main lecture hall quickly filling with smoke.
Firefighters battled throughout the day to bring the blaze under control and prevent it spreading to other parts of the university's buildings and there are fears that there is a risk of a building collapse.
— The Local
