WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 040709

Attorneys for individual plaintiffs in the lawsuits against San Diego Gas & Electric Co. over the 2007 wildfires that were caused by sparking electrical lines are worried about whether funds will remain for them after insurance companies settle with SDG&E; but to help take your mind off of wildfires, starting in 2010 you can try this great vacation getaway - stay at a fire lookout tower in the Sierras for only $50-$70 a night! Firefighters in Arizona had a wind-driven wildfire to deal with on an Indian reservation; followed by two stories out of Colorado: a critical wildfire protection bill passed the Colorado House by a vote of 59-1 today; while researchers are coming to an unexpected conclusion about the fire danger of beetle-killed trees that litter their forests. Lots of wildfire activity in Oklahoma, as the next two stories show; and a wildfire in Texas burned a pair of mobile homes. Firefighters in Minnesota were battling a suburban blaze that forced the evacuation of some homes; but in a bizarre twist, it appears the fire was set by a volunteer firefighter! A young arsonist caught setting a 1/4-acre blaze in New Jersey was remanded to his parents' custody. A 20-acre wildfire in Virginia provided some tense moments for residents and firefighters; followed by another story about North Carolina's endangered BRIDGE program, that allows convicts to fight forest fires in that state. A pair of wildfires was burning in Florida today, as recounted by the next story. Fire agencies in Vietnam are considering a unique way to guard against wildfires - build a canal! A ten-year long study of road-building and wildfires in the Amazon basin has been published; while firefighters on the island of Sumatra, in Indonesia, are on high fire alert for the next month. A firefighter in New Zealand was fatally struck by a limb from a burning tree; but even though we may be in a recession (some might say a depression), you wouldn't know it by the donations that flooded in to the Australian branch of the Salvation Army; followed by a summary of the millions in donations given to date. And as those donations come flooding in, volunteers are needed for the overwhelming task of replacing livestock fencing and rebuilding Victoria's infrastructure in bushfire burn zones. An emotionally-troubled Australian arsonist was given a 13-year prison term. Australia's bushfires have evidently cost their timber industry about half-a-billion Australian dollars (around $356 million US dollars). And finally, a study which will be released tomorrow shows through pyrogeography - the distribution and behavior of wildfire - how global warming is occurring across the world.

SDG&E talking wildfire settlement with insurers

Plumas National Forest fire lookout could welcome guests in 2010

BIA firefighters monitor brush fire location

Scanlan’s forest bill passes House

New thinking on the bark beetle epidemic

Numerous Wildfires Burn In Central Okla.

Wildfire forces evacuations in Love County

Brush fire burns in Callahan County

Fire Crews Battle Wildfire In Anoka County

Award-winning firefighter arrested for starting massive Anoka Co. wildfire

Police charge 15-year-old with starting forest fire

UPDATE: Goochland Brush Fire

Budget could eliminate firefighting program

Firefighters battle brush fire that threatens homes

HCMC to build canals to prevent forest fires

Reserves with roads still vital for reducing fires in Brazilian Amazon

North Sumatra forests under threat of fire

Firefighter killed by falling branch named

Salvos seek volunteers to sort bushfire donations

More appeal money to flow to fire victims

Call for volunteers to help bushfire recovery

Arsonist shocked by 13-year jail term

Bushfires 'cost timber industry $500m'

Climate change to spur rapid shifts in wildfire hotspots