WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 020309

There were a number of wildfire articles today, leading off with one from Big Bear, California, recounting a multi-agency meeting last week that discussed fire protection in that mountain resort, followed by one in which wildfire smoke was blamed for a poor air quality rating in a Northern California county. More details on yesterday's small wildfire in Colorado follows, while another article from Oklahoma provides additional info on the successful backfire that halted progress of a 15,000 acre blaze in that state. Residents of Virginia are given some warnings from fire officials in regards to the fire danger in that state in the next article, and a runaway trash fire sparked a 30-acre blaze in North Carolina as winds swept it along. In Ghana, Africa, authorities are calling for volunteers to boost national firefighter levels to 15,000, and a fire in Yunnan, China, that covered six square miles claimed the life of one forestry official. Switching to Australia, firefighters are still battling a 22,000 acre blaze in New South Wales that is in its second week, while firefighters are nervously watching an approaching storm, wondering if it will bring much-needed rain or unwanted lightning strikes. Fire officials in Victoria state are offering a sizeable reward for info about an arsonist in that region, but lightning is the cause of 50 more fires in that parched region, and although firefighters have been able to corral many of those fires before they got out of hand, they are still racing the clock to extinguish them before the weather takes a turn for the worst later this week. The Tasmania Fire Service has brought a new feature to their website allowing people to find out where bushfires are burning and what to do to protect themselves, while a potentially revolutionary article from the journal Plant Physiology may alter fire science by showing that bushfire smoke leads to quicker germination of seeds, something that applies to plants outside of Australia as well. In South Australia, scientists warned about the dangers to a huge area that is considered Australia's bread basket. And finally, Vermont firefighters may become honorary members of the local masons, as they had to partially disassemble a chimney in order to extract a man who had become stuck inside (fortunately the owner of the house heard him screaming before she lit a fire!)

Community Wildfire Protection Plan

Tehama County Blames Wildfires for High Ozone

Wildfire burns on 25 acres west of Fort Collins

Back burn stops wildfire

State's 4 p.m. burning law goes into effect Feb. 15

Wildfire scorches 30 acres

Youth urged to join Bush Fire Volunteer Squad

Deadly forest fire in SW China extinguished

Bushfire battle into its 11th day

Storm clouds bring threat of dry lightning - and fire

$100k reward for Gippsland blaze information

Lightning starts 50 fires

Vic firefighters race to quell blazes

Tasmania Fire Service Website New Bushfire Page

Soothing smoke key in plant regeneration

Alarm on catchment fire threat

Vt. firefighters rescue man stuck inside chimney