WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111709

Los Angeles County has renewed the $50,000 bounty on the arsonist who caused the Station Fire; but with the rainy season approaching, residents of burn areas in the foothill communities above Los Angeles are being briefed by fire officials on how to prepare for mudslides. Socked by rising insurance costs, two utilities in Southern California plan to increase fees to homeowners to cover anticipated losses to future wildfires in the area. In an ironic twist, attempted fire prevention sparked a wildfire in southern Orange County; one which has expanded to over 250 acres, but should be contained soon, thanks in part to a change in the weather. A small wildfire burning in the Los Padres National Forest over the weekend was reported nearly fully contained yesterday; even as United Way and other organizations announced that they had just distributed the remainder of donations for survivors of the Tea Fire in Santa Barbara to needy families. Residents of San Diego County have been invited to a 'firescaping' course that will show them how to use firewise landscaping to protect their property. USFS will begin prescribed burns of vegetation around South Lake Tahoe, California, today; and firefighters are planning controlled burns near Tucson, Arizona, as well. An ecologist whose controversial belief that beetle-killed trees are actually good for forest ecology is scheduled to speak in Montana. A wildfire in Pennsylvania kept firefighters busy; while a wildfire was reported in Bell County, Virginia, too. Argentina is having some problems with persistent wildfires in forested country. Heading to Australia, another article details the advice provided to the Royal Bushfire Commission about having more command-level officers on the scene in future bushfires to help reduce the confusion that was so detrimental to efforts to fight the Black Saturday bushfires. A Member of Parliament asked that a town in his jurisdiction be allowed to clear hazardous vegetation under the '10/30' rule; and although a comprehensive list of schools in Victoria that would need to be evacuated in the event of a bushfire has been compiled, critics argue that it's not quite comprehensive enough. Over 500 km of vegetation has been cleared from around water caches in Victoria, but much remains to be done to protect them from bushfires; this coming at a time when the Premier is warning of dangerous bushfire weather later this week. A summary of bushfires burning in New South Wales, including one which threatened homes in Sydney, is provided by the next two articles. Opposition politicians argue that the NSW government is keeping back information about communities in danger from potential bushfires due to fears that communities not listed would grow complacent in making any bushfire preparations; while over $100,000 of timber was destroyed in one of the bushfires burning in that state. Concerns are being raised over the survival of a rare ground parrot in Queensland as a bushfire that has been burning for a week continues to destroy its habitat; and as the temperatures rise, South Australians are being warned to prepare for catastrophic bushfires; something which could prompt evacuations as early as today from high-risk areas. And finally, a cautionary tale from Peru underscores the importance of a timely arrival at an incident!

Station Fire $50,000 reward renewed

Avoiding the Worst Case Scenario

Utilities propose higher fees

Ortega Fire Started By Irony

Cooler Weather Helping Firefighters In San Juan Capistrano

Fire in Los Padres National Forest reported as 80% contained

Wildfire Relief Cash Runs Dry

REGION: Public invited to 'firewise' landscape workshop

Federal officials begin fire burns today in South Lake Tahoe

Prescribed fires planned for the Verde Glen area

Wuerthner to speak on forest ecology and value of dead trees

Firefighters in Beaver County battle brush

Flames still burning in White Mountain

Wildfires continue in mountainous areas of Cordoba Province

Deploy fire chiefs early, Victoria bushfires Royal Commission hears

Our residents just as vulnerable to bushfire, says MP

Schools left off bushfire Code Red register

Firebreaks to protect water catchments

Premier warns of 'bad day' for bushfires

Fire crews save Sydney homes

Bushfire rages as temperatures peak

Govt urged to name fire threat communities

Pine forest blaze proves costly

Bushfire sparks fears for rare parrot

Catastrophic bushfire danger warning for South Australia

Catastrophic bushfire warning prompts evacuations

Angry mob beats, robs Peru firefighters