WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 090309

Our first wildfire story today, from Voice of America, underscores the impact of global warming on wildfires in the United States, and elsewhere; followed by an update on the Station Fire, which has destroyed several dozen homes, taken two lives, and still threatens many homes in the area. A look at the tough fight in the canyons late yesterday is provided in the next article; and the desperate battle to save Mount Wilson Observatory, which caused fire managers to bring in some of the biggest guns in the aerial arsenal, is recounted. A Hot Shot had to be airlifted to a local hospital after falling off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest last night; while a behind-the-scenes look at inmate firefighter crews, people who do a great job, but seldom get any credit, follows. The wildfires near Yucaipa and Oak Glen are winding down, allowing CAL FIRE to demobilize some of their forces accordingly. An article gets down in the trenches and up in the air to chronicle the battle against Southern California wildfires; and videos of the Martin Mars in action, including nose and tail camera videos of drops on Mt. Wilson, are provided by the next article. Even though there are still emergency funds available for firefighting, the governor is urging legislators to pass an initiative which would add an insurance surcharge to policies of homeowners in high risk areas; but an electric company is giving a price break to people whose homes have been destroyed in the wildfires; and a phone company is following suit. A score of firefighters from Hawaii have been flown over to help fight California wildfires. Cleveland National Forest will be raising the fire danger indicator; while CAL FIRE and San Diego officials are warning residents that the terrible wildfires in LA County may be a foreshadowing of things to come for San Diego County later this year. Two firefighters were injured during a wildfire outside of San Jose yesterday; but homeowners in a San Jose suburb felt vindicated for having fought to keep a fire station open, after a wildfire broke out in that area yesterday. CAL FIRE had a 7-acre blaze in Northern California to deal with yesterday; another one in central California that burned an acre; and the chronology of the 49 Fire, which destroyed dozens of homes in Auburn, California, is explored in the next article. A writer from Arizona comments on wildfires in that state this time of year; while firefighters in Utah reported progress on wildfires burning in that state. Two small lightning-sparked wildfires burning in Colorado's Roosevelt National Park are expected to be contained soon; but a pair of lightning-sparked wildfires in Montana's Pryor Mountains continue to grow. Nearly forgotten in all the news about Southern California wildfires, British Columbia is still battling 2,800 blazes, with firefighting costs approaching $300 million so far this year; even as debate within the Canadian Parliament turns on the issue of how much money is required to protect their forests from wildfires. Tony Morris, of Wildfire Research Network, submitted information about a gigantic seaplane the Chinese are designing that will be used for fighting wildfires in the future. Attempts to control wildfires that burned thousands of acres of forest through cloud seeding on Borneo, Indonesia have failed. Australian psychologists take a look at the psychological barriers people living in high-risk bushfire areas often exhibit in regards to creating defensible space around their property; but officials fear that climate change may make certain parts of Australia uninhabitable due to the risk from bushfires. Accusations that the government ignored over two dozen bushfire recommendations before Black Saturday have ignited a bushfire of their own within Victorian government circles; while attempts by the media to use freedom of information (FOI) petitions to obtain government documents pertinent to the Black Saturday bushfires have so far been unsuccessful; and maps critical to understanding what happened on Black Saturday have apparently disappeared. And finally, Northern Territory firefighters suffered a comedy of errors while trying to dispose of old incendiaries!

Global Warming Adding Fuel to Wildfires

Fire prompts evacuations, but crews make progress

Canyons become battleground in Station fire

Firefighters wage 5-day battle to save Mt. Wilson Observatory

Firefighter injured overnight after falling 20-feet

Calif. Prisoner Firefighters Deserve Respect, Too

Inland battle against wildfires winding down

Wildfire battle waged up close and from the air

Video of Martin Mars dropping on Mt. Wilson

Will money from property owners help pay to fight California wildfires?

Southern California Edison announces bill forgiveness for wildfire victims

AT&T has free service for victims of wildfires

Hawaii Firefighters to Join Fight Against California Wildfires

Cleveland National Forest To Elevate Fire Restriction Level

Firefighters: Prepare for the Worst San Diego

Brush Fire Near Highway 87 Contained, Two Firefighters Injured

San Jose firefighters quickly douse wildfire near fire station that was targeted for closing

Crews battle blaze in Klamath River Country Estates area near Hornbrook

Small wildland fire outside Boulder Creek nearly contained at 1 acre

49 Fire commander talks response times

Summer scene in land of fire, rain

Crews gain on Utah wildfires

Fires nearly contained

Crews work to control fires in steep Pryor Mountains

Seven new fires push total over 2,800

Fire Budget Shrinks As Threats To Forest Health Increase: BC NDP

The Dragon 600 - massive sea plane

Forest fires widespread in Kalimantan

Psychological Barriers Reduce Responsiveness To Bushfire Risk, Australia

Areas will be too risky to live in

Govt 'ignored' bushfire recommendations

Secret state: Case study 2

CFA maps predicting bushfire course on Black Saturday disappear

Government fireworks disposal sparks bushfire