WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111209

First up in wildfire news today, boxer Alex Ariza will be paying homage at a boxing match in Las Vegas this weekend to a fallen LA County firefighter who died trying to get his crew to safety during the Station Fire. A series of public education meetings sponsored by a coalition of fire agencies and the California Fire Safe Council was conducted in the Malibu/Topanga Canyon area of western Los Angeles County. A hungry bear that had been rummaging through people's trash in La Crescenta was tranquilized by wildlife authorities and will be relocated to the Angeles National Forest (if they can find any areas locally that haven't been burnt to a crisp by the Station Fire, that is); and the superintendent of the Mount Wilson Observatory recounts the harrowing experience of living through the Station Fire as it approached the historic site. Some additional details on an earlier story about a US Forest Service firefighter who lost his trailer-home to the Sheep Fire are provided by the next article. Although San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications paid settlements to the State of California and other parties for the 2007 wildfires (in which neither company admitted wrongdoing), the investigation into exactly how the wildfires started continues; even as residents of a San Diego community are showing their appreciation for a local fire station whose firefighters protected them during the 2007 wildfires. A former US Forest Service firefighter who has battled wildfires near Santa Barbara over the years, has just been appointed that city's fire chief; and the US Forest Service will be darkening the skies around Lake Tahoe as a conduct controlled burns. The Department of the Interior is declaring war on cheatgrass (among other things) in the Great Basin; while firefighters on New Mexico's Mescalero Apache Reservation had a 900 acre wildfire to battle. The pioneer who began the practice of smokejumping for the US Forest Service has died in Montana at the ripe old age of 98! Residents of a community in Mississippi that has the same name as a legendary wildland firefighting tool will be receiving Firewise instruction on how better to protect their homes from wildfires in that state. A New York Times article tells how a number of environmental groups are urging protection of Canada's boreal forests, which account for 60% of the carbon sinking done by vegetation worldwide. Taking bushfire precautions one step further, Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia, is going to be requiring schools and day care centers to close down on red flags alert days; and in addition to the usual heightened vigilance during bushfire season in Gippsland, police will also be keeping tabs on known arsonists. Local officials in Victoria are renewing pressure to fix the communications problems that so vexed firefighters during Black Saturday; while Blaze Aid, a nonprofit that boasts 3,500 volunteers, has repaired over 400 km of fence line destroyed by the Black Saturday bushfires. A lightning-sparked wildfire that broke out along the Queensland-Northern Territory border now covers several kilometers; even as New South Wales' Rural Fire Service has imposed a total burn ban and warned homeowners to review their bushfire preparedness plans. And finally, a farmer on New Zealand's North Island was stunned when he received a bill for over $65,000 for a controlled burn got out of control!

Alex Ariza dedicates "FIREPOWER" to fallen LA County Firefighter

Residents Urged to Organize Fire Safe Councils

Napping bear found in yard

Superintendent who helped save Mt. Wilson Observatory is raising funds to preserve it

Pet project: A Calif. community rallies to aid of local animal rescuer who lost home to wildfire

Fire Cause

Firefighters' efforts spark campaign

Andrew DiMizio to be sworn in as new Santa Barbara city Fire Chief

Smoke from controlled burn expected in sky today

U.S. Interior Dept. changes stance on climate

Wildfire scorches 900 acres

Smokejumping trailblazer Earl Cooley dies at age 98

Wildfire safety class in Pulaski

Group Urges Protection of Northern Forests

Schools to close across Melbourne on red alert fire days

Police to monitor known arsonists in bushfire season

Calls to fix firefighter radio woes

Addicted to helping bushfire victims

Bushfire closes highway

Total fire ban as temperatures soar

Firefighting bill shock for farmer