WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 070209

In wildfire news today, a pair of stories detail the delays US Forest Service continues to heap on the arrival of the Martin Mars at Lake Elsinore, California; while a wildfire along Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles burned 20 acres before LA County firefighters brought it under control. A brief history of fire lookout towers in Southern California's Cleveland National Forest is provided by the next article; and a small wildfire was quickly quelled in Atascadero yesterday. A pair of wildfires has burned hundreds of acres in Yosemite National Park; but the battle lines are forming up over proposed wildfire legislation between those who recommend thinning woodlands and those who see this as a ploy to harvest timber in California. A small blaze broke out in Utah yesterday; even as fire officials in that state are hoping that an unusually wet spring will postpone the fire season. Air-tankers and firefighters on the ground roped in a small wildfire in Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest; but with a batch of wildfires in the vicinity, firefighters in Coeur D'Alene are suspecting possible arson; followed by a National Public Radio piece in which smokejumpers in Idaho are the subject. Fearing a repeat of the Horry County wildfire that destroyed so many homes earlier this year, residents of that same part of South Carolina were relieved that firefighters got a new blaze under control so quickly. Trouble in paradise, as a 25-acre wildfire burned in a regional park on Oahu, Hawaii. With two towns evacuated, a series of wildfires are keeping Israeli firefighters busy, as the next two articles show. Lebanese firefighters are beset with hundreds of forest fires right now. Sweeping changes to Victoria, Australia's, Country Fire Authority are being recommended; something top CFA brass have voiced their support for; but the chief in charge at the time of the Black Saturday bushfires is getting severe criticism over the handling of that disaster. Experts weighed in on the Royal Bushfire Commission recommendations; but amid accusations that its bushfire broadcasts were slow and sometimes inaccurate during the Black Saturday bushfires, the Australian Broadcasting Company will probably lose its monopoly on providing bushfire emergency information. And finally, for those who wish they could put out a fire with the press of a button, some Swiss firefighters did just that!

LAKE ELSINORE: Firefighting air ship delayed again

No word on when firefighting plane will arrive in Lake Elsinore

Brush Fire in Los Angeles National Forest, Burns 20 Acres

Volunteer fire spotters put Cleveland National Forest tower back into service

Homes spared from Atascadero brush fire

Two Wildfires Burning In Yosemite

Proposed wildfire legislation fuels ongoing debate

Firefighters head to blaze in Utah county

Forest Service quashes fire at Redfish campground

Cd'A fights 8 wildland fires in 1 week

Smokejumpers Prepare for Another Wildfire Season

Woods fire alarms residents in Carolina Forest

Firefighters contain wildfire near Central Oahu Regional Park

Arson suspected in Israeli forest fires

Forest fires caused by man cutting metal with blowtorch

Hundreds of forest fires leave Lebanese countryside in ashes

Victorian Bushfire Warning System Needs Overhaul, ABC Reports

CFA boss backs bushfire systems overhaul

Top Australia firefighter criticised over wildfires

Teague recommendations sensible: experts

ABC set to lose role as sole bushfire broadcaster

New Swiss firefighting tool: TV remote control