WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 062009

Well, the Martin Mars' arrival has been delayed again. I talked to Wayne Coulson yesterday and he sent along the following message:

Update on Martin Mars. "The Martin Mars has been delayed by the USFS until early next week." Although the aircraft will not be deployed until we receive further instructions the Mars support equipment is staged in Lake Elsinore awaiting arrival. Thanks Mike, Wayne.

The new projected arrival date, per Wayne, is Tuesday, 6/23. In the meantime, there's only one thing to do when you're visiting Southern California: visit Disneyland (have fun, Wayne!)

In other news, a detailed examination of wildfires in the history of the earth is provided by an article from the journal Science News. Funding for firefighting and non-firefighting programs equal to almost $3 billion is advancing through Congress; while new legislation designed to keep California communities safe, the California Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention and Community Protection Act of 2009, is discussed in the next article. A grass fire burned 2,100 acres near the fabled nuclear weapons lab at Lawrence Livermore in California; and Santa Cruz, a year after a wildfire, is the topic of the next article. A story from Northern California reflects on the virtue of wet thunderstorms in memory of last year's catastrophic dry lightning siege; but Orcas Island, in Washington state, has had another wildfire brew up. Firefighters in Arizona were forced to evacuate some residents as a wildfire approached; but elsewhere in that state, firefighters had to deal with a fast-moving house fire: a motor home on the move! An update on the wildfires burning in New Mexico's Gila National Forest is up next. FEMA has allocated funds to help residents and businesses impacted by wildfires in Oklahoma earlier this year. A lightning-sparked wildfire in South Dakota has been contained; but a marsh fire in Hernando County, Florida, kept firefighters busy yesterday. Fear that a spate of wildfires around the British Columbia town of Nanaimo were arson is motivating investigators to find the culprit(s). Wildfires in northern Canada are being damped down a bit by rain squalls, but dozens still remain active; and a summary of the wildfires still burning in Alberta follows. The war on wildfires is summarized in the reflections of a Canadian firefighter. The debate over climate change in Australia is discussed. And finally, here's a headline from Australia that most will find counter-intuitive: 'Firefighters rescue bird from tree'?!?

Fire

Interior Spending Bill Advancing: $ for Wildfires & Offshore Language Included

Herger: Keeping Communities Safe from Wildfire Means Reducing Hazardous Fuels

Wildfire burned in hills east of Livermore

Rising from the ashes, residents recover from final wildfire of 2008

Unlike last June, this season's thunderstorms have been wet

Another wildfire on Orcas

Brush fire forces evacuation in north Cave Creek

Motor home burns traveling up Mount Graham

Fire Management Team transfers command of two fires back to Gila National Forest

FEMA Assistance Announced For Wildfires In Oklahoma

Lightning sparks fire overnight near Sheridan Lake

Homes spared from Hernando County wildfire as crews continue dousing hot spots

City hit by suspicious blazes

Mother Nature Helps Forest Fire Fight

Firefighters continue to battle large Alta. fires

Sweat and science at root of modern strategy to put out wildfires

Our climate hots up but the debate is divided and small-minded

Firefighters rescue bird from tree