WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111008

Up first in wildfire news today, an article out of San Bernardino that voices cautious optimism over an unexpectedly light wildfire season in that region, followed by one from San Diego about an informational guide provided by the Burn Institute containing tips for protecting homes from wildfires. Next up, an article about firefighters in Chico providing guidance to homeowners on fire precautions. The arson investigation of the Gap Fire's cause has run out of leads, and an Op-Ed piece from Redding asks how USFS can adapt to changing conditions. An article from a conservation group in Florida advocates controlled burns to help the ecosystem, and an article from New Jersey shows how private landowners are implementing this strategy. Trouble in paradise, as a fire brews up on The Garden Island of that chain, fortunately with a better outcome than San Diego's Cedar Fire, which was started under similar circumstances. Two stories out of Ohio, where a small wildfire was contained, and a controlled burn to prevent future outbreaks was successfully executed on that same forest. Fire crews in West Virginia were able to use ATVs to quickly reach and extinguish a small wildfire there, while the next article discusses the tasks assigned to Aerial Supervision Module aircraft used by USFS to observe a fire and to guide heavy air-tankers into a target. Firefighters in Oklahoma were thankful for a sudden rain storm that quelled a growing grass-and-hay fire, but Louisiana firefighters are on edge over a rash of arson jobs. And speaking of arson jobs, two articles out of Australia show that this is not something isolated to the US: the first discusses suspicious fires in New South Wales; the second recounts the story of a mother of two who set a number of arson bushfires in her neighborhood. Sydney has been having some problems with bushfires on the west side, and environmentalists are up in arms about excessive trimming of tree ferns in Victoria State.

So far, Inland region avoids major fire

Free Wildfire Guide available in print, online

Forest Ranch learns fire precautions

Gap Fire inquiry burns out

Can Forest Service get back on track?

Prescribed burns beneficial to land and animals

Duke Farms in Hillsborough plans prescribed burn on Wednesday

Firefighters spend 5 hours dousing Kauai fire

Wayne National Forest wildfire contained on Friday

UPDATE: Wayne National Forest Prescribed Burns

Small fire at Crowders Mountain

Silverhawk Aviation gets to empower Forest Service aircraft

Rain provides relief to firefighters battling blazes

Drive by arsonists have started three forest fires in Allen Parish

Suspicious forest fires under investigation

Harrogate woman Helen Judith White admits lighting 21 fires

Firies battle bushfire in Sydney's west

Tree fern carnage