WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 101508

As the fires in Southern California diminish, firefighters are taking advantage of the brief respite to dig out hotspots and count the cost, as the first two articles today detail, although the NWS is predicting Red Flag Warnings till the weekend, as the next relates. At its peak, the Sesnon Fire had over 2,000 firefighters manning the line, and communities like Big Bear are beefing up their response in anticipation of more wildfires to come. California has an emergency fund of $69 million with a reserve fund of $1.5 billion with which to handle wildfires, but let's hope they don't have to use all of it, considering the budget shortages right now. As if they didn't have enough to do already, LA County Fire Air Ops had to divert a couple of fireships to handle a 10-acre blaze on PCH today, while the DC-10 was on high alert in Victorville Tuesday after having to scramble on a call to drop on the Sesnon Fire on Monday. NPR did a segment on the advent of fire season in California as well. Meanwhile, San Diego has had its share of fires and controversy, starting with an article on firefighters' progress at Camp Pendleton and the immense value of the CL-415s in saving homes of military families. In the midst of the fires in San Diego County, however, Proposition A (the parcel tax for fire funding) looks like it's having trouble finding support, with comments by San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum member Frank DeClercq. KPBS does a radio segment where they discuss the night-flying limitations of some aircraft based in San Diego, as does an article from North County Times' Dave Downey in which Cleveland National Forest Fire Chief Carlton Joseph acknowledges that San Diego's twin-engine night-flying helicopters are cleared to drop on fires in the CNF at night, something which was never allowed in the past. But an article from KGTV questions why these same helicopters were not allowed to fly over Camp Pendleton at night when homes there were threatened. An interesting article talks about forest dwellers being prepared and explores the "Stay and Defend" philosophy, and the next article discusses the Oregon Forest Land Protection Fund increase to help defray firefighting costs. Overseas, Lebanese firefighters get welcome relief from the skies on their wildfires, while Perth firefighters can't seem to get a break from bushfires in Western Australia.

Wind, tensions around Los Angeles fires diminish

Firefighters gain on LA-area blaze as wind calms

National Weather Service extends red flag fire warning through Friday

2,300 Firefighters Work To Contain Sesnon Fire

Fire agencies increase staffing as fall fire season begins across Southern California

Despite economic downturn, there's money and resources fight fires in California

Water-Dropping Helicopters Attack Fire Near PCH

Locally based Super Tanker fighting Los Angeles fires

Fire Season Under Way In California

Juliet fire at Pendleton now 75 percent contained

Prop. A Heads to Ballot Minus Firefighter Support

Wind and Dark Limit Some SD Firefighting Aircraft

REGION: Night firefighting from the air develops slowly

Firefighting Air Assets Sit Unused

Living on the Edge - Managing Forest Fire Risk

Wildfire costs prompt fee hikes

Mother Nature helps snuff out flames in Chouf, other regions

Tough day for Perth firefighters