WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 090709

An update on the Station Fire, which is now considered 56% contained, is provided by our first wildfire article today; followed by a look at the devastation caused by the Station Fire, which has reduced one quarter of the Angeles National Forest to ash; and another article looks at the impact on wildlife, with comments from a JPL climatologist on the weakening El Niño, promising more drought for this next year. Time magazine provides an in-depth look at the terrible financial toll of the wildfires on California's budget; and firefighting efforts in the Inland Empire have added up to over $10 million. Following the recent Southern California wildfires, CBS news is rolling out their "mega-fires" documentary again. A National Public Radio segment examines the impact of the annual California wildfires on insurance rates in the area; while the threat from wildfires to local businesses is explored in our next article. For the first time in recorded history, San Francisco had to refuse sending fire equipment to help with the Southern California wildfires. A small wildfire in Ventura County was quickly squelched by firefighters over the weekend; and San Diego Gas & Electric will be holding a meeting tomorrow to unveil a wildfire fighting team, along with some new innovations they hope will reduce the potential for utility poles to cause wildfires. A rainstorm in Washington state's Olympic National Park helped quell wildfires burning in the area; but US Forest Service plans to do some fuel reduction near Reno, Nevada. The official report on a Bureau of Land Management firefighter killed by a falling tree in Colorado this past June has been released; followed by an article about the plight of wildfire contractors in Montana, faced with a slow year during a major recession. Trouble in Paradise as a 250 acre wildfire burned on Oahu, Hawaii. Firefighters and residents of India's Kashmir are demanding that authorities make good on their promises of compensation for injuries and loss suffered in wildfires in that region over the past few years. Wildfires are threatening to burn onto the grounds of an Indonesian airport. Meanwhile Down Under, the failure to provide current and accurate bushfire information to civilians during Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires was revisited. The Royal Bushfire Commission has been informed that a water bomber could've been dispatched sooner to stifle the bushfire that started near Marysville perhaps helping to avert the disaster that wiped out that town; followed by more details on the blaze that leveled that town. A trio of firefighters with extensive experience handling bushfires hold little hope that the Royal Bushfire Commission findings will change bushfire management for the better. Fears of denuding the countryside by removing too many trees in parts of Victoria are aired next; but at least one contractor in that state has cleared vegetation far back from his home. One of the features of the proposed bushfire warning system, the ability to track mobile phone users, has come under scrutiny by privacy advocates; while South Australia is moving forward with plans to conduct even more aggressive burn offs of fuel ahead of the fire season. An arsonist may have been at work in a New South Wales suburb yesterday; but a favorable change in the weather has diminished the bushfire threat in New South Wales (for the moment). And finally, add flying corks to the hazards firefighters sometimes face in the line of duty!

Station fire 56% contained; another firefighter injured [Updated]

L.A.'s nature haven, reduced to wasteland

Post-wildfire worries: floods, damaged ecosystem

Can Budget-Strapped California Afford More Wildfires?

Inland Empire firefighting costs hit $10 million

The Age Of Megafires

Calif. Wildfires Burn Insurance Rates

Wildfires demonstrate need for preparations

S.F. unable to help fight wildfire near L.A.

Brush fire reported at Red Mountain, Casitas Pass roads

SDG&E Bolsters Region's Firefighting Capabilities With New Helicopter and Strike Team

Rain helps to control wildfires in Olympic National Park

Plans under way to thin wildfire fuels near Reno

Details in BLM firefighter's death

Slow fire year idles contractors

Wildfire Burns 250 Acres; Contained

Years on: Fire fighters fight red-tapism demand relief

Central Kalimantan Forest Fires Threaten Airport Runway

Bushfire warning systems under scrutiny

Delay in dispatching water bomber on Black Saturday

Marysville fire's power was noted

Doubts held over fire reform

Expert urges rethink on tree-clearing rules

Battle lines drawn on clearing code

Fire alert mobiles spark privacy row

Mega burn-off to reduce bushfire menace

Bushfire blankets suburbs in smoke

Cool change takes heat out of bushfires

Firefighters dodge flying corks in wine truck fire