WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 031510

Ramona, California, will be using $475,000 in federal funds to purchase a new Type 1 fire truck for duty in backcountry wildfires (1); while Washington state's Department of Natural Resources is providing guidelines to residents about protecting their homes from wildfires in advance of the fast-approaching fire season (2). US Forest Service will conduct controlled burns in Arizona's Tonto National Forest this week (3); but the Coconino County Sheriff's Department is requesting assistance from residents in identifying the arsonist who sparked a wildfire last fall in the northern part of that state (4). The age-old battle between environmentalists and loggers is painted in a new light as a Colorado professor argues against widespread logging of beetle-killed trees (5); and despite the fact that it's still officially winter, parts of Wisconsin are receiving wildfire danger levels of 'moderate' (6). Due to the wetter-than-normal winter, fire agencies in Pennsylvania are hoping for a reduction in wildfires this spring (7). Firefighters from the Florida Division of Forestry battled a wildfire in Brevard County Sunday night (8); while an ill-advised attempt to remove a shrub by lighting it on fire in that state's northwest resulted in $1,000 in damage and a small wildfire to extinguish! (9) Firefighters on Oahu, Hawaii, managed to extinguish a pair of wildfires while they were still small (10). The next article takes a closer look at a new bill making it's way through Congress that would enhance benefits and pay for US Forest Service firefighters (11); followed by one from Yale University that focuses on insect infestations' impact on wildfires in the western US, as well as the destruction being done by these tiny pests in Australia, France, and Russia (12). More protection for Canadian old-growth forests in British Columbia is being sought in the wake of the destruction wrought by last year's massive wildfires (13). Brunei Fire and Rescue Department has recorded over 300 bushfires since the beginning of the year, as high temperatures continue to plague that Himalayan nation (14). Border Security Force troops squelched a wildfire that broke out near Imphal, India (15); and wildfires in Bangladesh's Tangail region forced wildlife into nearby villages (16). Illegal fires are being blamed for a number of large wildfires in Cambodia's national parks (17); while a comparison of bushfire activity in Malaysia confirms Kipling's maxim that 'East is East and West is West' (18). Firefighters in New Zealand were battling wind-driven bushfires again on the fire-plagued Otago Peninsula (19); even as authorities tally the record-breaking bushfire suppression costs (20). A lawyer weighs in on the twists and turns likely in the ongoing 2003 bushfire compensation hearings in Australian Capital Territory (21); even as lawyers in Victoria create a new panel to address likely climate change-related bushfire cases of the future (22). Money from a $10 million business stimulus package provided by the Victorian government is now available to bushfire-hit areas (23); while a youth who is accused of starting a bushfire in Victoria on New Year's had his day in court (24). And finally, some creative folks came up with a good idea to help out the wildfire-ravaged Southern California community of La Canada: bake the world's largest Rice Krispies Treat!

(1) Federal money buys backcountry engine

(2) DNR urges early wildfire precautions

(3) Prescribed fire will take place near Payson

(4) Agencies Seek Public’s Help In Wildfire Incident

(5) CSU professor cautions against logging beetle-killed trees

(6) Fire danger moderate

(7) Pennsylvania could face fewer wildfires this spring

(8) Brush Fire Threatens Central Fla. Homes

(9) 'Howling wind' turns bush fire into house fire

(10) Firefighters mop up after two brush fires

(11) Legislation aims to cut national wildfire costs by reducing reliance on other agencies

(12) What’s Killing the Great Forests of the American West?

(13) Scorched Tahsish River clearcut sparks call for conservation

(14) So Far 123 Bush Fires In March

(15) BSF troops take stellar role in dousing forest fire

(16) Forest fire spreads, ravaging fresh areas in Modhupur

(17) Blaze ravages protected Pailin forest

(18) More bush fires in the West Coast compared to the East Coast: Khirudin

(19) Fire crews battle blaze near Dunedin

(20) Forestry fire bill set to break record

(21) Bushfire compo case 'complex and unpredictable'

(22) New legal panel to focus on climate change

(23) Business boost

(24) Boy in court over Mt Clear fire

(25) Volunteers, TV station unveil world's largest Rice Krispies Treat in La Cañada