The Street View car has come fairly close to several fires over the years, and many remain to be seen – such as this sidewalk garbage fire in a Marseilles underpass which has filled the air with acrid black smoke, or this small roadside brush fire midway between Cardiff and Newport, Wales.

In Sao Paulo, this petrol station is nearly obscured completely by the smoke from a car fire.

The most inflammatory encounters for the Street View car, however, may be these large roadside fires in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa and Chiapas, Mexico.

I wonder if they’ve tried putting these fires out with the world’s largest fire hydrant? Then again, it probably wouldn’t help, seeing as how as it’s located over in Columbia, South Carolina. Besides, the Street View Car in general has bad luck with hydrants.

Fortunately, there are usually emergency workers on the case. Here in Wiesbaden, Germany, an upper-level house fire is being attended to by a number of fire trucks.

At Philadelphia International Airport, this burned-out husk of an airplane sits in a paved circle. The helpless victim of firefighter training, it joins its comrade at Florida’s MacDill Air Force Base.¹

This small brush fire on the North Island of New Zealand was likely set deliberately as part of the annual process of getting the land ready for the season’s planting, and this field fire in Bulgaria is also deliberate. This other brush fire in Botswana captured by the National Geographic African Megaflyover Project, however, appears to be far more dangerous.

Then there are full-on forest fires. In the wilderness of the Northwest Territories, this forest fire is caught in the heat of the moment, sending a giant plume of smoke into the air that can be seen over 20 miles (30 km) away.

Just as ominous is this massive fire in the far east of Russia, seen here blazing a path toward the Pacific Ocean.

What’s worse than an out-of-control wildfire? Try three, as captured here in Cameroon.

Finally, here’s the Street View car getting incredibly meta, as it takes a picture of someone taking a picture of a fire along the South African coast.

Locations: Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Florida, France, Germany, Mexico, New Zealand, Northwest Territories, Pennsylvania, Russia, South Africa, South Carolina, Wales / Categories: Aircraft, Natural Landmarks, Other Vehicles, Street Views

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Construction on the town began in 1958 during the Soviet occupation. It has a very small permanent group of inhabitants and stays almost completely empty for most of the year. However, during the summer months the resort’s population can swell with many thousands of tourists from Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Aerial views of Sunny Beach reveal the sheer number of unique pools that dot town. Actually, it seems a distinct possibility that rectangular-shaped pools might have been made illegal at some point.

Exploring Sunny Beach’s many pools is rather like picking shapes out of passing clouds. Each one seems to be unique with some having some interesting resemblances to other objects. Here’s one that looks like Mickey Mouse‘s head:

And here’s another that looks like…well…you get the idea:

You can learn more about Sunny Beach at the official website and on Wikipedia.

Thanks to Capital C.

Locations: Bulgaria / Categories: Buildings, Watercraft

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This is the second largest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv, which is built around 7 hills. Back in the 70s they were digging up one of these hills in order to extend a major road and unearthed this ancient Roman Theatre. Rather than just plowing on, the road was relocated into a tunnel under the hill. The Theatre was preserved and today is regularly used for concerts and performances. (Ground level photo).

Thanks: Georgi Petrov

Locations: Bulgaria / Categories: Buildings

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