We leave 2021 with some echoes of 2020, rising Covid cases and scaled down New Year’s Eve celebration. There is one big difference however, vaccines have made a difference and reduced risk. It’s already 2022 in some parts of the world of course and in a few hours New York will great the New Year with traditional ball drop, but a smaller crowd than originally planned.

Now to Colorado where wildfire has destroyed as many as one thousand homes and forced tens of thousands to evacuate. More than one hundred homes are reduced to ash. A combination of hurricane fore winds and wildfires left a trail of devastation across of Boulder County, Colorado. Wind gusts of more than a hundred miles per hour fueled the flame. Destroying everything in its path, including one thousand homes. Firefighters tried to battle the massive flames but it was moving too fast. Today the governor J.P. toured the area and describe the fire as a disaster in fast motion. More than thirty thousand residents were directed to evacuate. As residents make their way to the neighborhoods, all that’s left is complete devastation. The fire is believed to have started after high winds toppled power lines and transformers.

The US is ending the year with a record number of Covid cases. More than two and a half million in the past week, five hundred and sixty-eight thousand new infections were reported just yesterday.

:::tip gust

• : a sudden brief rush of wind. 阵风

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