Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Live on YouTube tonight: President Obama’s Oval Office address on Iraq

President Obama set a deadline of August 31, 2010 for ending the combat operation in Iraq and shrinking the U.S. footprint there to no more than 50,000 troops. Tonight, at 8 P.M. ET, the President will address the country from the Oval Office about the status of this effort. You can tune into a live-stream of the speech on YouTube at www.youtube.com/whitehouse -- where you’ll also be able to ask the White House follow-up questions on the future of American involvement in Iraq in a special Moderator series. Click here to submit your question now.



If you miss the live address and the Q & A, tune in to Citizentube afterwards where we’ll feature the President’s remarks, the Q & A, and the Republican response to the Administration’s plan in Iraq.

Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics, recently watched Obama to Mark Iraq Handoff in Primetime Speech

Friday, August 27, 2010

My Experience on the YouTube News Feed

Earlier this year, YouTube approached the University of California Berkeley School of Journalism, where I was then a graduate student, with a question: how could we better understand the news ecosystem on YouTube? And how can we assess the footage that is uploaded to YouTube everyday by “citizen reporters,” particularly as a source for professional journalists to use in their reporting? They asked my fellow classmate Anna Bloom and me to launch an experiment called the News Feed. The goal was to discover and highlight breaking news footage on YouTube and see how valuable it could be to media organizations and news consumers. In the process, we wanted to figure out how YouTube functioned as a news source and how well the site enabled people to discover breaking news clips quickly and efficiently.

For the last three months, we’ve been examining the algorithms that surface the hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube everyday, in search of valuable news footage that is visually compelling, timely, and shot by non-professional journalists. On citizentube.com, we’ve posted hundreds of clips documenting everything from forest fires in Russia to riots in California to sharks on the Jersey Shore.

Today is my last day on this project, and I wanted to share some of my reflections on what I found.

Content Breakdown

Early on, we decided to look primarily at stories of national or international interest. Lots of local news events are recorded by YouTube users every day, but only a few are relevant to a broad audience of journalists. We wanted to highlight citizen or amateur footage that could contribute to the day’s headlines, while also hoping to discover important stories that weren’t being reported by the mainstream media. We identified several news categories we thought YouTube users were already capturing: weather events, protests, accidents and disasters, political gaffes, misuses of authority, and fighting and unrest. We didn’t exclude other newsworthy events, but these are the staples of television news and are in the “sweet spot” for citizen reporters.

We noticed a lot of our content was posted by users outside the US (In fact, 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the United States). We found lots of interesting content from Russia for some reason, very little from Africa and almost nothing from China, where the site is blocked. This summer, 48.8% of our CitizenTube posts were based on clips from international users, while 51.2% were from US users.

Here’s a breakdown of precisely what we published on the site:


Protest/Riots: 14%
Environment/Weather: 13%
International Conflict: 10%
Accidents: 10%
Fire: 9%
Floods: 8%
Political Gaffes: 7%
Bizarre Animals: 6%
Police: 3%
Sports: 3%
Rescues: 2%
Animal Rights: 1.5%



It comes as no surprise that the greatest number of posts related to protests or riots: events that involve large crowds of people, where you can expect someone will whip out a cell phone camera if something newsworthy happens. (See also these clips from the Love Parade panic and the Venezuela train trapping.) In addition, YouTube users show little fear in tackling controversial topics: the effects of global warming, the meaning of Islam in America, and Mid East land conflicts among them. Without the influence of editors, lawyers, shareholders, or any of the traditional constraints of journalism, these videos sometimes represented views more extreme than those usually heard in the mainstream media. Sometimes the content existed only to communicate a very specific point of view, whether it was convincing tourists to visit a contaminated beach, or persuading people that a certain brand of politics is misguided. “Activist reporting” is alive and well on YouTube.

In my experience this summer, though, I found that most people just wanted to share a great story with the world: to let other people know what’s happening where they live. For example, the man who filmed the images of the Airblue plane crash in Pakistan, Muhammad Saqib Sultan, told me he heard about the accident on TV, then hopped on his motorbike and drive more than ninety minutes to reach the site, in the thick, jungled hills above Islamabad, just to see it for himself and make a record of it. Oftentimes these citizen reporters are happy to document places that professional reporters are unable to visit.

The localized nature of these videos gives them a special kind of credibility. Almost all of the clips we featured this summer were shot by people who live near the scene of the event they depicted. They know their communities well, which sets them apart from journalists who parachute into the site of breaking news and are expected to master local intricacies in a short period of time. Who better than citizen reporters to know when something is out of place or unjust in their own backyards?

Citizen reporting is only going to grow as more of the world gets access to affordable, mobile video equipment and broadband Internet. In a way, YouTube users could be seen as the world’s largest news-gathering unit, uploading content from around the globe 24 hours a day. Both sides -- citizens and the professional media -- have something to gain from this. In a shrinking news environment, where media corporations are trying to do more with less, amateur video footage complements the work of professional reporters, who provide the necessary background, context and narrative to the raw footage. Citizens get recognition for their work, help shape the way their communities are covered, and in the future, might get some form of compensation from a “news marketplace.” Many innovative organizations are already experimenting with such models.

Just as the nature of citizen reporting will continue to evolve, so will Citizentube.com. So keep an eye on it for new developments from YouTube’s News and Politics team, and of course, for more amazing stories captured by YouTube users around the world.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

North Carolina Snake Breeder Hatches Two-Headed Reptile

A rare two-headed corn snake has been hatched by a reptile breeder in North Carolina. Mike Lambert tells Charlotte's WBTV the snake was born on August 18, and also has an uncommon double recessive gene that wipes out the black and red coloring of its scales, making it mostly white.



User name: DunnsMtnReptiles
Location: Salisbury, North Carolina
Date uploaded: August 18
Views: 32
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: DunnsMtnReptiles
Location: Salisbury, North Carolina
Date uploaded: August 18
Views: 100
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

La Tomatina: The World's Biggest Food Fight

The city of Bunol, Spain held its annual La Tomatina food fight today, featuring tons of overripe tomatoes.



User name: ResetLiveGrow
Location: Bunol, Spain
Date uploaded: August 25
Event date: August 25
Views: 51
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: BakkerInternational
Location: Bunol, Spain
Date uploaded: August 25
Event date: August 25
Views: 61
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: CendraDigital
Location: Bunol, Spain
Date uploaded: August 25
Event date: August 25
Views: 200
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Russian Police Officer Reprimanded for Brutality

Russian officials have reprimanded a police officer caught on video tape striking a peaceful protestor with a baton and pulling his hair, according to the Moscow Times. The officer reportedly could face prison time for the incident, which can be seen at 7:22 in the clip below. The paper reports the unauthorized rally was staged to "draw attention to Article 31 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly. The authorities have refused to authorize the rallies, organized by opposition and human rights activists on the last day of every month with 31 days since July 2009."



User name: nevextv
Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
Date uploaded: July 31
Event date: July 31
Views: 248, 623
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Anti-Mosque Crowd Harasses Suspected Muslim

Opponents of a planned Islamic center near Ground Zero gathered in Lower Manhattan on Sunday to denounce the project. A YouTube user filmed some of the protesters harassing a man they mistook for a Muslim. Salon.com interviewed the citizen reporter, Aaron Webber, who said the "the protesters were denouncing Islam itself, not merely the community center project."



User name: lefthandedart
Location: New York, New York
Date uploaded: August 22
Event date: August 22
Views: 25,867
User notes: "A man walks through the crowd at the Ground Zero protest and is mistaken as a Muslim. The crowd turns on him and confronts him. The man in the blue hard hat calls him a coward and tries to fight him. The tall man who I think was one of the organizers tried to get between the two men. Later I caught up with the man who's name is Kenny. He is a Union carpenter who works at Ground Zero. We discussed what a scary moment that was for him. I told him that I hoped it did not ruin his day."
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Crowds Riot After Earth, Wind & Fire Concert

Fort Collins, Colorado police used tear gas and mace to break up a riot involving as many as 400 people early Sunday morning, The Coloradoan reports. The riot began after an Earth, Wind & Fire performance at the NewWestFest music festival. Some people "threw beer bottles, patio furniture and other objects at police; they also damaged cars, stole items from festival vendor tents and set trash cans on fire," the paper reports.



User name: Drthinian
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Date uploaded: August 22
Event date: August 22
Views: 2,534
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: Drthinian
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Date uploaded: August 22
Event date: August 22
Views: 6,615
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Cape Town Cooling Towers Demolished

Spectators filmed the demolition of the Athlone power station near Cape Town, South Africa.



User name: sarin54
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Date uploaded: August 22
Event date: August 22
Views: 12,093
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: FlightzoneSA
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Date uploaded: August 22
Event date: August 22
Views: 1,305
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Bull Leaps into Crowd, Injuring 40 at Bullfight

Forty people were reportedly injured when a bull leapt into a crowded bullring in Tafalla, Spain and trampled spectators. According to Spanish media reports, the bull was eventually brought under control by bullfighters and killed. Images captured by Basque Television and audience members show the animal jumping several yards over a barrier, triggering panic in the crowd.



User name: eitbcom
Location: Tafala, Spain
Date uploaded: August 18
Event date: August 18
Views: 305
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: 97javierito
Location: Tafalla, Spain
Date uploaded: August 18
Event date: August 18
Views: 2,219
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Driver Rescued from Burning Vintage Car

A video posted to YouTube on Monday shows a group of bystanders pulling a driver from a vintage car that caught fire in Sherman Oaks, California.

The video was posted by YouTube user melaphoria, who provided these details: "A vintage Ford Model A was rear-ended in front of my apartment while waiting at a red light. Upon impact the car exploded and ended up on the opposite side of the street. A few good Samaritans rescued the driver while he lies unconscious in the burning vehicle."



User name: melaphoria
Location: Sherman Oaks, California
Date uploaded: August 16
Event date: August 15
Views: 973
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Zebras Escape, Run Through Calif. Neighborhood

Two zebras escaped from an animal training facility outside Sacramento, California on Saturday and trotted through the streets of Carmichael for about five hours before being captured. The Sacramento Bee reports: "Bystanders helped corral one after it was hit by a car, suffering only a superficial cut. The second was found in an apartment complex's pool." Both animals were later transported to a ranch in Oregon.



User name: phore
Location: Carmichael, California
Date uploaded: August 14
Event date: August 14
Views: 1,641
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.




User name: rednecksrawesome
Location: Carmichael, California
Date uploaded: August 14
Event date: August 14
Views: 1,544
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Car Bomb Hits Colombian Capital

A bomb exploded outside the Caracol Radio station in Bogota, Colombia, injuring six people and blowing out the windows of surrounding windows. Bogota's police chief tells the AP the bomb may have been the work of leftist guerrillas who have been fighting the government for decades.



User name: tobymuse
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Date uploaded: August 12
Views: 1
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Raging Flood Waters Destroy Pakistan Homes

New videos posted to YouTube show violent flood waters in Pakistan washing away homes and inundating towns with millions of gallons of water. Pakistan's government now estimates 14 million people have been affected by the disaster.



User name: lover7717
Location: Kalam, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 11
Views: 60
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: lover7717
Location: Kalam, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 11
Views: 104
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: amjadlatifmemon
Location: Rohri, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 11
Views: 130
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Fights, Chaos as 30,000 Line Up for Housing Applications

A chaotic crowd of 30,000 people showed up to receive Section 8 housing applications in East Point, Georgia, three times the number officials were expecting. TheAtlanta Journal-Constitution reports this is the first time since 2002 that space in government-subsidized apartments has been available. The paper reports people began pushing and shoving when they were told to line up in a different place, and 62 people needed medical attention. Fights also reportedly erupted when some tried to break the line.



User name: kiko2114
Location: East Point, Georgia
Date uploaded: August 11
Event date: August 11
Views: 3
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Record Flooding Swamps Ames, Iowa

Ames, Iowa's Skunk River and Squaw Creek are expected to crest at all-time highs today, breaking records set in 1993. The city has been hit with three nights of storms, which left Iowa State's Hilton Coliseum under five feet of water.



User name: delugeia
Location: Ames, Iowa
Date uploaded: August 11
Event date: August 11
Views: 5
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: TheNabsta
Location: Ames, Iowa
Date uploaded: August 11
Event date: August 11
Views: 247
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: nei1y
Location: Ames, Iowa
Date uploaded: August 11
Views: 274
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Wildfires Suffocating Russian Capital

A record heat wave in Russia may kill as many as 15,000 people and shave $15 billion off the country's GDP, Bloomberg reports. For several weeks now Russian citizens have been posting videos to YouTube that show the thick smoke covering their skies.



User name: mirmax2k8
Location: Moscow, Russia
Date uploaded: August 9
Views: 11
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: dmitrek
Location: Moscow, Russia
Date uploaded: August 9
Views: 74
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: moosth2
Location: Moscow, Russia
Date uploaded: August 9
Views: 34
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Players Target President Obama in Carnival Game

A carnival operator in Allentown, Pennsylvania has removed a target-shooting game that featured a likeness of President Obama, but video clips posted to YouTube reveal similar games exist at other carnivals. The clip below shows a New Jersey seaside carnival game using figures resembling President Obama, Osama bin Laden, a Boston Red Sox player, Michael Jackson and Saddam Hussein.

UPDATE: A bag has now been placed over the President Obama figure, according to Chris Barrett, who shot these videos.



User name: chrisbarrett
Location: Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Date uploaded: August 10
Views: 103
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: chrisbarrett
Location: Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Date uploaded: August 8
Event date: August 7
Views: 27,808
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Sarah Palin, Protester Face Off

A cell-phone video clip captured an exchange between Sarah Palin and a protester who hung a sign reading "PALIN WORST GOVERNOR EVER" at a business at the Homer, Alaska harbor dock. A transcript of the conversation can be found here.



User name: MOOREUPNORTH
Location: Homer, Alaska
Date uploaded: August 8
Views: 433,689
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Pakistan Flood Victims Move to Roadside Tent Cities

Flood victims in Pakistan who have lost their homes apparently are relocating to tents set up along highways. The tents can be seen along a stretch of road between Islamabad and Peshawar in a video uploaded to YouTube by DELTApak, whose other videos document the destruction caused by the flooding outside Peshawar.



User name: DELTApak
Location: northwest Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 6
Views: 2
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: DELTApak
Location: Nowshera, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 6
Views: 13
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Thai Elephant Hospital Treats Landmine Victims

The AP reports an elephant hospital in Thailand is treating a new patient today: a 22-year old female elephant whose foot was severely injured when she stepped on a landmine. The hospital, called Friends of Asian Elephant, has reportedly treated at least 12 other elephants wounded by landmines buried along Thailand's northern frontier, where the Myanmar government is battling ethnic minority rebels. Some of FAE's patients can be seen in videos uploaded to YouTube.



User name: soraidasalwala
Location: Lampang, Thailand
Date uploaded: July 21
Views: 12
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.




User name: WindyBorman
Location: Lampang, Thailand
Date uploaded: April 2
Views: 442
Click here to watch this video.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

14-Year Old Launches Solo Sailing Voyage

Fourteen-year old sailor Laura Dekker left her home in the Netherlands today in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. As the BBC reports, Dekker, who was born on a yacht, plans to spend the next two years circumnavigating the world on her 26-foot boat, Guppy.



User name: omima23a
Location: Den Osse, Netherlands
Date uploaded: August 4
Event date: August 4
Views: 363
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

"Solar Tsunami" Creates Brilliant Northern Lights

A storm on the surface of the sun known as a "coronal mass ejection" pushed billions of tons of superheated gas into the solar system, which is now appearing over some parts of the northern hemisphere in the form of aurora borealis. The Telegraph reports: "Dramatic auroras were seen in Denmark, Norway, Greenland, Germany and across the northern United States and Canada" Tuesday night.



User name: rostern
Location: Bergen/Levanger, Norway
Date uploaded: August 4
Event date: August 4
Views: 102
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: Gaustatrollet
Location: Telemark, Norway
Date uploaded: August 4
Event date: August 4
Views: 8
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: shauttra
Location: Latvia
Date uploaded: August 4
Event date: August 4
Views: 315
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: technofranki
Location: Risør, Norway
Date uploaded: August 4
Event date: August 4
Views: 336
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Thailand's Red Shirts Stage New Protest

Hundreds of Red Shirt protesters defied a state of emergency and gathered for a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday, where they called for early elections. At least ninety demonstrators linked to the Red Shirt movement were killed in two months of clashes with security forces that ended in April.



User name: RevengeoftheRedShirt
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Date uploaded: August 2
Event date: August 1
Views: 20
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: RevengeoftheRedShirt
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Date uploaded: August 1
Event date: August 1
Views: 472
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Videos Show Communal Whale Hunt on Danish Island

Residents of the Faroe Islands, an autonomous part of Denmark, took part in a communal hunt for pilot whales on July 23. The New York Times' Dot Earth blog uncovered this explanation from Faroes' Ministry of Fisheries:

"The pilot whale hunt in the Faroes is, by its very nature, a dramatic and bloody sight. Entire schools of whales are killed on the shore and in the shallows of bays with knives which are used to sever the major blood supply to the brain. This is the most efficient and humane means of killing these animals under the circumstances, but it naturally results in a lot of blood in the water. It is also understandable that there have been many strong reactions to media reports and pictures of the hunt in other countries, especially in urban communities, where most people have never actually been witness to the slaughtering processes from which their own meat derives."



User name: mincewhale
Location: Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Date uploaded: July 27
Event date: July 23
Views: 11,387
User notes: I posted the video clip for mainly two reasons.

Whale slaughter is a spectacular event with much blood. Many of the pictures shown in the media are vivid, graphic and provoking, giving much to an imagination to work with. Not always intended to inform people, but to impress. And sometimes even used to play on emotions to provoke and gain support for a cause. Killing animals is and should be horrible, or at least unpleasant.
I wanted the full story to be told and watched, by giving a real time overview of the event, so that the graphic images can be understood in the context of the event.

I wanted the performance of the people making the whale drive to be seen, and also how the killing was done. Knowing it was exemplary compared to some botched slaughter in Klaksvik that was portrayed as such in the media, and evoked outrage internationally and also amongst the Faroese.

The number of pilot whales killed in this video was said to be 108, and they were a splinter group of a larger drove passing by the Faroe Islands. The whale killing itself was said to last somewhere between 5-7 minutes. That means that a whale died every third second after the stranding.
Soon after the stranding of the pilot whales, report of another whale drove was reported. When that drove was discovered to consist of white beaked dolphins, that whale drive was aborted.

Much has been done to improve on the whale killing procedures and in the use of tools. To lessen the pain and stress inflicted on the animals, and to hasten the process. This video demonstrates that improvements are successful. One example is the hook used to draw the whales to the shore. It used to be line with a sharp edged hook that was stabbed into the flesh of the whale, so that the men on the beach holding the line, could pull it in. This hook has now been replaced with a blunt hook designed to be pushed into the blowhole of the whale, and it is being used successfully.

Each year has on average 10 whale drives with a mean total of 800 whales. A number that accounts for about 0.1% of the estimated population of pilot whales.

I have eaten some of the whale, and am thankful for it, I have seen the cost.

The video is unedited, except that it only contains the first 5 eventful minutes.
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: koyrilararin
Location: Torshavn, Faroe Islands, Denmark
Date uploaded: July 27
Event date: July 23
Views: 46
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Chechen Terrorist Announces Retirement via YouTube

In a video posted to YouTube, the leader of a Chechen rebel group branded a terrorist by Russia and the United States has apparently announced his resignation as head of the self-proclaimed Caucusus Emirate. The AP reports: "A man recognizable as Doku Umarov says in the grainy footage posted late Sunday that he is handing over command of the group of fighters ... which seeks to establish an Islamic state in the region." Umarov claimed responsibility for 2 suicide bombings in Moscow subway stations that killed 40 people in March and an attack in November 2009 that killed 26.



User name: B0RJGALI
Date uploaded: August 1
Views: 566
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Workers Run for Lives After Iran Petrochemical Explosion

A fire and explosion at Iran's largest oil terminal earlier this month reportedly killed 4 people. Iranian news agency IRNA said high pressure in a central boiler may have triggered the blast at a petrochemical plant on Khark Island. The fire was apparently caught on video in this clip, which also shows an explosion at 2:12 that sent workers running for their lives.



User name: 20071305
Location: Kharg Island, Iran
Date uploaded: August 1
Event date: July 25
Views: 312
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Cholera Fears in Pakistan After Epic Flooding

2.5 million people have ben affected by Pakistan's worst flooding in 80 years, according to the BBC, which reports that officials are worried about outbreaks of diarrhea and cholera. Videos posted to YouTube show flooded streets and damage in cities surrounding Peshawar. imranahmad131 describes the scene in his video from Garhi Baloch village, noting "thousands of homes were partially broken as most of the houses are not of concrete."



User name: SAMINUNOCHA
Location: Behrain, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 2
Views: 27
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: Innocent143Beauti
Location: Nowshera Cantt, Pakistan
Date uploaded: August 1
Views: 466
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: imranahmad131
Location: Garhi Baloch, Pakistan
Date uploaded: July 30
Event date: July 28-July 29
Views: 1,028
User notes: This video was taken on 28 and 29th July 2010 when the flood strike the Village Garhi Baloch, Peshawar (5 KM North from the downtown). Half of the residents of Garhi Baloch were badly affected by the Budni Nala (canal). This flood caused damage of billions of rupees. The video shows the walls of the houses fallen due to heavy rain on 28th July and then the flood on 29th July. The flood came to be a blessing for some self-seeking and cold-hearted people when they started catching the valuables of the damaged houses.
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.



User name: TheRomeo117
Location: Nowshera Cantt, Pakistan
Date uploaded: July 31
Views: 1,097
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Shark Sighting Closes New Jersey Beach

New Jersey's Seaside Park beach was briefly closed on Sunday when a 5-foot blue shark swam onto the shore. WNBC-TV reports lifeguards have closed the beach three times this summer because of shark sightings. Jennifer Abbondanza uploaded this footage of the shark to YouTube.



User name: jmabbondanza
Location: Seaside Park, New Jersey
Date uploaded: August 1
Event date: August 1
Views: 20,335
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Russian Volunteers Caught in Wildfire

Hundreds of wildfires are burning in Russia, where one of the worst heat waves in decades refuses to ease. A YouTube user who uploaded this video says he and his friends were en route to Tamboles, Russia, when flames surrounded the car.



User name: vykza
Location: Tamboles, Russia
Date uploaded: July 29
Views: 248,293
User notes [translated]:
We arrived in the village of Tamboles as volunteers to help local people protect homes and got into the epicenter of the fire. In the video we're going back to the city from the burning village. The asphalt road is virtually the only exit from the village (there are bypass through Shimorskoe). For half an hour before we came along this road, there was not even a hint of the fire.

Car - Mitsubishi Outlander XL 2007
Camera - Canon 5D Mark II + 24-105
Operator - Ivan Malyshev
Click here to watch this video on YouTube.