WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 100308

First up in the news today, two stories out of San Diego - one a caution about the fall fire weather, the second a radio show segment from KPBS about new partners to aid in California's response to disasters (including wildfires). Staying in San Diego, SDG&E, the local power folks, still smarting from lawsuits against them from the 2007 wildfires (some of the fires were started by sparking power lines) have decided to shut off power during red-flag days to prevent a recurrence. LAFD reflects on a disaster many years ago in the next entry. Los Padres National Forest is still having wildfire problems, as the following item shows, while a wildfire in Utah's Dixie National Forest will simply be left to burn. Firefighters in West Virginia are bracing for the worst as they face an unusually dry fall fire season, and Colorado firefighters are coping with a couple of small fry. Another article examines the big business of wildfire contracting in the west. One community's town council bristled at their negative fire rating, fearing it would cause insurers to up their rates. And another community's forest owners discuss carbon trading as a commodity up in Oregon. A report from Southern California's Inland Empire examines the implications of the President's Disaster Relief Bill. Moving outside the US, Canadian photographers discuss the haunting beauty of wildfire-ravaged forests in the snow. Heading south to Australia, several articles record the new bushfire season there, leading off with one about how weather is coming to the aid of Queensland firefighters, followed by another about how weather is compounding firefighters' problems in New South Wales. A campground east of Canberra (capital of Australia) has been evacuated as a bushfire encroached on its occupants. Switching to the technological front, the US Army is bringing more to the table, as Blue-Force Tracking technology is being employed by Air National Guard units, something that, up until now, has been confined to military use overseas. Now the question is, will this technology be made available to the civilian air assets as well, allowing all the aircraft to know where everybody else is located, similar to what I wrote about in my novel Firebombers Incorporated?

Fire danger remains high, despite cooler weather

State Adds Partners For Disaster Response

SDG&E will shut off high-risk backcountry power lines

75 Years Ago - L.A. Wildfire Kills 29 Firefighters

Chalk Fire creeps closer to Highway 1

Wildfire burning near Panguitch

Lack of rain portends bad fire season

Two new, small fires burning west of Loveland

Wildfire fighting contracts reach throughout the West

Woodside rejects new wildfire risk labels

Carbon: The new forest product?

10/1/2008 - President Signs Disaster Relief Bill That Includes Funding Replacement for U.S. Forest Service

Regeneration under burned spires

Cool change contains Maleny blaze

Two bushfires break out in Illawarra

Bushfire results in camper evacuation

Tactical Tracking System Deploys for Stateside Use