WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 052109

With nearly half of next year's $5.2 billion budget dedicated to preventing and fighting wildfires, the US Forest Service is seeking to create more jobs in this sector, as we begin wildfire news today; followed by a comprehensive review of Santa Barbara's Jesusita Fire, including causes, response from firefighters, and the aftermath. The service contract at Santa Maria's air attack base is examined and yields at least one interesting statistic about the difference between a full service versus call-when-needed contract: three minutes response time versus four hours. Ventura County, California, residents are taking a cue from neighboring Santa Barbara County's recent wildfire to prepare for fires in their own backyard; and Half Moon Bay, California, will be hosting a wildfire preparation workshop in early June. A National Public Radio segment discusses the future of wildland firefighting in California in the wake of budget cuts; even as a US Forest Service seasonal firefighter is being charged with setting fires in Stanislaus National Forest. A small lightning-sparked wildfire in Arizona has been contained. Details on stimulus funds being spent in Utah and Colorado are provided in the next two items. Michigan's Upper Peninsula continues to burn as a 777-acre fire is now 65% contained; and a wildfire also burned 100 acres in Wisconsin. The Minnesota National Guard was called upon to provide aerial firefighting assistance on wildfires in that state. California's fire departments aren't the only ones suffering from budget cuts: New Jersey wildland firefighter numbers will be cut to the bone to save money. Prescribed burns near residential areas in Louisiana are the topic of the next article; and the wildfire in South Carolina, which firefighters have been mopping up for weeks, was further dampened by a rain storm. A massive wildfire that destroyed over 20,000 acres in Spain several years ago is still wending its way through the courts. With over 500 wildfires so far this year in one Indian state, fire agencies are concerned about how much damage they are doing; while another series of fires burned along the India-Pakistan border. A fire ecologist from the University of Melbourne provided some astounding statistics for the severity of the Black Saturday bushfires to the Royal Bushfire Commission.

Tester pushes Forest Service chief to 'get folks working in the woods’

Burning Questions

Air Base Anxiety

Firefighters demonstrate home protection in wildlands

Wildfire protection plan meeting, June 2

Cuts Eyed In California Firefighting Budget

Former federal firefighter held in Calif. arsons

Lightning sparks wildfire near Green Valley contained

Utah to get money for wildfire protection

Summit County awards grants for wildfire logging

777-acre fire burns path in Upper Peninsula

Block House Fire Burns Over 100 Acres Near Park Falls

High Winds, Dry Conditions Contribute To Fires

Fire Service: Furloughs put state at risk

Controlled burns tricky in residential areas

Rain may change status of wildfire

New court ruling in Spain on forest fire which killed eleven

Himachal authorities grapple, as forest blazes burn precious green cover

Forest fires near LoC controlled in Poonch

Bushfires as 'powerful as atomic bombs'