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Russian Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Restarted after Maintenance

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
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Russian Nord Stream Gas Pipeline Restarted after Maintenance

Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

The Nord Stream gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany restarted on Thursday after 10 days of maintenance work, its operator told AFP.

"It's working," a Nord Stream spokesman said, without specifying the amount of gas being delivered. The German government had feared the pipeline would not be reopened by Moscow after the scheduled work.

According to data given by Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom to Gascade, the German operator of the line, 530 GWh would be delivered during the day.

This was only 30 percent of its capacity, Klaus Mueller, president of Germany's energy regulator, the Federal Network Agency, said on Twitter.

Gazprom has cut flows to Germany via the vital Nord Stream 1 pipeline by some 60 percent in recent weeks, blaming the absence of a Siemens gas turbine that was undergoing repairs in Canada.

The German government has rejected Gazprom's turbine explanation and believes Russia is squeezing supplies in retaliation for Western sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea has been shut down since July 11 to undergo annual maintenance.

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Air Tankers Fight Los Angeles Fires from Frantic Skies

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
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Air Tankers Fight Los Angeles Fires from Frantic Skies

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

In the skies above Los Angeles, air tankers and helicopters silhouetted by the setting California sun dart in and out of giant wildfire plumes, dropping much-needed flame retardant and precious water onto the angry fires below.
Looking in almost any direction from a chopper above the city, AFP reporters witnessed half a dozen blazes -- eruptions of smoldering smoke emerging from the mountainous landscape like newly active volcanoes, and filling up the horizon.
Within minutes, a previously quiet airspace above the nascent Kenneth Fire had become a hotbed of frenzied activity, as firefighting officials quickly refocused their significant air resources on this latest blaze.
Around half a dozen helicopters buzzed at low altitude, tipping water onto the edge of the inferno.
Higher up, small aircraft periodically guided giant tankers that dumped bright-red retardant onto the flames.
"There's never been so many at the same time, just ripping" through the skies, said helicopter pilot Albert Azouz.
Flying for a private aviation company since 2016, he has seen plenty of fires including the deadly Malibu blazes of six years ago.
"That was insane," he recalled.
But this, he repeatedly says while hovering his helicopter above the chaos, is "crazy town."
The new Kenneth Fire burst into life late Thursday afternoon near Calabasas, a swanky enclave outside Los Angeles made famous by its celebrity residents such as reality television's Kardashian clan.
Aircraft including Boeing Chinook helitankers fitted with 3,000-gallon tanks have been brought in from as far afield as Canada.
Unable to fly during the first few hours of the Los Angeles fires on Tuesday due to gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour, these have become an invaluable tool in the battle to contain blazes and reduce any further devastation.
Helicopters performed several hundred drops on Thursday, while conditions permitted.
Those helicopters equipped to operate at night continued to buzz around the smoke-filled region, working frantically to tackle the flames, before stronger gusts are forecast to sweep back in to the Los Angeles basin overnight.