WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 092409

In wildfire news today, the Guiberson Fire in Moorpark, California, has passed the 16,000 acre mark, but is now 40% contained, with help from a ferocious air attack which included the DC-10, as told by the next two articles. In the meantime, residents are packed and ready to go, including a small zoo! The DC-10 also saw some action yesterday in the Inland Empire as Crafton Hills College was evacuated due to a 200 acre wildfire; a fire which authorities believe was caused by a teenager now in police custody. CAL FIRE was able to pounce on a small wildfire that burned near the site of the Harris Fire in southern San Diego County; but at a meeting in San Diego yesterday with State Sen. Diane Kehoe, it was revealed that San Diego County's budget shortfalls meant that fewer firefighters could be deployed to wildfires outside of that area. A new study from a UC Davis plant scientist turns conventional wisdom about beetle-killed trees on its head, arguing that they pose no greater fire danger, but provide homes for wildlife and fertilizer for vegetation. Steep terrain is hampering firefighters' efforts in trying to contain a 6,400 acre wildfire burning in Oregon; while senators from Oregon are trying to get a bill passed which would revamp wildfire funding. Fire managers on the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming are going to let a fire burning there clear out some beetle-killed trees; and a trio of stories out of Montana report on the fire situation there. The Senate has thrown out funding for several Washington, DC, parks that was to be allocated from a wildfire bill, claiming that it was 'outrageous' that such a use of wildland firefighting funds should be made for an area that has no national parks and no wildfires of any size. A 700-acre wildfire was reported in British Columbia, Canada, yesterday; while another wildfire in that province has forced scores of people from their homes, further battering that provinces firefighting budget, originally $62 million, now cresting towards $400 million! Human agency has been identified as the single largest cause of wildfires in Korea, as summarized in a recent report. Power lines are once again getting the blame for a bushfire ignited on Black Saturday, as reported to the Royal Bushfire Commission meeting in Victoria, Australia. A telecommunications company in Australia has been given the go-ahead to develop a system which would warn mobile phone users of bushfire danger to better facilitate evacuations in those areas threatened by bushfires. Homeowners fighting alongside firefighters in a Queensland community were successful in saving their town, as shown by the next two articles. New South Wales authorities are cracking down on arson and keeping an eye on convicted arsonists as the bushfire season begins. And finally, our last story comes to us from Massachusetts, where firefighters were saved by a soda machine!

Hot, windy weather stokes S. California blaze

'Full attack' is under way on California wildfire

Moorpark residents are well-prepared for wildfire

FIRE: Crafton Hills blaze grows to more than 200 acres, forces Crafton Hills College to cancel Wednesday evening classes

16-year-old arrested for allegedly starting 475-acre Yucaipa fire

Fire Crews Control Spread Of Fire In Southeastern S.D. County

Fewer firefighters available to loan to other areas

Study: Dead trees key

Southern Oregon Wildfire Doubles In Size

Senator Wyden: Funds to fight wildfires

Fire burns on Crow Creek drainage, near Cody

Lightning sparks pair of wildfires

Scapegoat fire is prescribed

Arson suspected in wildfire burning near Arlee

Senate rejects wildfire funds for D.C. parks

Wildfire In Gaspard Lake Area

Bush fire forces 75 B.C. residents from homes

Forest Fires Burn Nearly 900 Hectares Yearly

Electric arc 'was cause' of bushfire

Telstra to build national warning system

Residents evacuated as bushfire rages

Firefighters and residents save town

Tougher arson penalties set for NSW

Chief: Soda machine saved firefighters