WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072809

We begin wildfire news today with several articles that bear on the future of wildland fires: the first comes from Harvard University and underscores the effect climate change will have on wildfires worldwide over the next few decades; the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN has published a detailed document about the urgency of wildfire prevention and mitigation worldwide, as shown in the next two articles; and we finish with a New York Times article that highlights a new projection of an intense fire season ahead for the western US. San Diego, California, has approved SDG&E's plan to shut off power to backcountry communities during red flag days; while a small wildfire south of California's Silicon Valley was doused by firefighters. A wildfire in Central California that has burned 650 acres spared cabins nearby; and a US Forest Service firefighter who died while rappelling from a helicopter last week will be laid to rest Thursday in Hayward. Firefighters in Northern California had a small grass fire in an orchard to battle; and a Sierra wildfire near Fresno was handled by CAL FIRE. A wildfire caused by a fatal accident on an Oregon highway was quickly contained by firefighters; while the Washington State Fire Marshall provides details on evacuations during a wildfire. Forest Service personnel are inviting public comment on fires in New Mexico's Lincoln National Forest; and an incompletely extinguished campfire has ended up costing three Arizona men over half-a-million dollars. Yesterday we read about lookout towers as an endangered species, but an article today shows that a number of fire lookout towers that ring Grand Canyon National Park have been designated historic structures. Colorado has had a below-average wildfire season, up till now; but the Bureau of Land Management is allowing a small wildfire to burn in Utah. Idaho fire managers have nearly corralled a wildfire burning in rugged terrain; while environmentalists have sued to block logging in a Montana national forest that burned in 2007. The benefits of a wildfire in a North Carolina forest are expounded in the next article; but with hundreds of thousands of acres burned, wildfires in Alaska continue to burn in ideal fire weather. The continuing hot, dry weather in Nanaimo, British Columbia, has kept Canadian firefighters busy with multiple wildfires; even as fire and lightning seem to be the order of the day in British Columbia right now; but the reduced fire danger in Manitoba has allowed that province to send more firefighters to assist with the massive wildfires burning in British Columbia. A mighty Russian SS-18 ICBM will loft a pair of British disaster-monitoring satellites into the heavens to join a constellation of four satellites already monitoring wildfires and other natural disasters around the world. Morocco and Albania can add their names to the list of Mediterranean countries being afflicted by wildfires, as the next two articles show (for non-Greek speakers, this is the translated article). Three Spanish soldiers have been added to the list of casualties in Europe's wildfires as Spain continues to burn; and a pair of wildfires is burning outside of Athens, Greece. The US Army is working with Indonesia in wildfire-fighting exercises in Riau province. With forecasters predicting a horrific bushfire season ahead, the call is going out to Australian communities to prepare bushfire plans; and Victoria's State Emergency Service (SES) workers practiced their professions in preparation for the next emergency. A series of meetings has been scheduled by Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment to allow citizens to have input on how excess vegetation in national parks should be thinned; while a fire brigade outside of Melbourne, Australia, is beefing up their bushfire effectiveness with a couple of new additions. Meetings are beginning in parts of Australia to explain the new building codes instituted to make homes more resistant to bushfires; followed by details on the case of an accused arsonist on trial for setting wildfires in Victoria in January. And finally, though not technically a wildfire-fighting force, a team of robots that was unveiled in London, England, could be a harbinger of things to come, even in wildland firefighting.

Scientists expect wildfires to increase as climate warms in the coming decades

Researchers Project Intense Fire Season in the West

UN agency calls for more integrated approach to fire prevention

The Wildland Fire Problem

San Diego Approves SDG&E's Wildfire Power Shutoff Plan

Grass fire north of MH quickly extinguished

No Fire Damage To Mt. Knight Cabins

Firefighter to be laid to rest

UPDATED: Firefighters battling grass fire

Fast Moving Wildfire

Fatal crash sparks forest fire, closes Hwy 20

Evacuation during a wildfire is the best option

Lincoln Forest seeks input on management of unplanned fires

3 Phoenix men agree to $550K settlement for setting wildfire

Fire lookout towers in Grand Canyon National Park have been added to Natl Historic Lookout Register

Rainfall douses wildfire threat in Northern Colorado

BLM monitors new wildfire

Crews get control of small wildfire

Groups sue to stop salvage logging in Mont. forest

Rangers Say Destruction From Croatan Forest Fire Not All Bad

Weather no help against Interior wildfires

Summer's dry heat continues to plague firefighting efforts

Fire, lightning fuel concerns for B.C. forests

Soggy weather means fewer forest fires in Manitoba

'Disaster satellites' ready to fly

Arson, carelessness spark Morocco’s spate of forest fires

FIRE IN ALBANIA

Spanish soldiers injured as wildfires brought under control

Wildfires burn on Athens outskirts

TNI and US Army team up against forest fires in Riau

Prepare for the fire season: it's closer than you think

SES sharpen their skills

Big burnoffs planned for national parks

Brigade welcomes latest additions to the firefighting fleet

Bushfire building standards explained

Accused firebug offered to help CFA, court hears

Robotic firefighting team debuts