WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072109

A small wildfire was reported in Ventura County, California, yesterday; and lightning has sparked a number of new wildfires in Sequoia National Park. A sizeable wildfire is burning near Ukiah; but CAL FIRE was able to rope in a small wildfire in Central California before it reached a home. A 300-acre wildfire that burned in Central California overnight was controlled by firefighters. The wildfire burning in Klamath National Forest in Northern California has passed the 3,000 acre mark; even as National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team out to investigate the crash of an S-61 firefighting helicopter in that area last week. The importance of making sure a wildfire is truly out is driven home by this tale of a resurgent wildfire west of Portland, Oregon, that was considered 'dead' three weeks ago. Heavy rains helped firefighters get a grip on wildfires in Arizona. Several stories out of Colorado today: a Neptune P-2V was forced to land at an airport in Durango due to engine trouble; a Girl Scout ranch is doing some thinning of vegetation to reduce the fire hazard; helitack crews from Wyoming helped get control of Colorado wildfires; and Mesa County had a small wildfire that burned onto a highway. An update on wildfires in Texas, which were not significantly slowed by rain, is provided by the next two articles. Arson investigators in Montana are looking into a number of suspicious blazes in the Flathead National Forest; while firefighters battling blazes in Alaska, particularly the Railbelt Complex which is threatening cabins, have more to worry about as the weather turns dry and windy. Canadian firefighters have managed to stall a blaze in British Columbia before it could destroy any more homes; but even as over half the Canadians forced to flee wildfires in British Columbia have been allowed to return home, another 5,000 are still waiting for the all-clear. We hear a lot about wildfire smoke being bad for your lungs, but a Canadian article puts something else in harm's way: your car! A look at wildfires in Canada's Ontario province is up next; and a look at the wildfire situation in Vietnam is provided by the following article. Fearing that the lessons learned by the Royal Bushfire Commission will not be put into practice for the next bushfire season, members of the Australian parliament are calling for provisions that ensure the lessons learned have been applied; but the personnel drain on Country Fire Authority's ranks (900 firefighters lost since Black Saturday) is the focus of the next story. And finally, arson investigators only needed to look up to see the cause of a wildfire in North Carolina: a hawk across the power lines!

Brush fire burns 30 acres in Ventura County

Lightning strikes ignite 5 fires in nearby forest areas

Firefighters battling Ukiah area blaze; winds bring smoke to Lake County

Yuba County fire held at 25 acres

Firefighters quell wild-land blaze north of Elverta

Klamath National Forest fire consumes more ground

NTSB team en route to copter crash site

Firefighters control 2 Alarm Brush Fire near Forest Grove

Rains handle wildfires

Plane shuts down engine

Girl Scout Ranch works to keep fires, beetles at bay

Helitack crew critical to firefighting

Wildfire in median shuts down highway

Rain not enough to stop wildfires

Firefighters battle brush fire in Travis County

FIRE SEASON 2009: Flathead National Forest investigates string of arson fires along North Fork Road and south of Bigfork

Dry, windy weather could fan Alaska wildfires

Crews fight blazes to a standstill

Canadian wildfires ease, 6,000 people head home

Smoke from forest fires can damage vehicles: BCAA

Sault having a quiet forest fire season

Urgent action needed to tackle forest fires

Checks of bushfire prevention needed: MP

Race against clock to train new recruits for fire season

Hawk Causes Brush Fire In Greer