WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 033010

First up in Wildfire News Of The Day, we have a correction on item #6 in yesterday's issue, about a wildfire in Quay County, attributed to be in Texas, when it was really New Mexico (pointed out by Dan Ware, Public Relations Coordinator/Fire Information Officer for New Mexico State Forestry). In today's news, Northern California's Plumas National Forest will have a few prescribed burns to lessen wildfire danger as fire season approaches (1); while Washington state's Department of Natural Resources released its 2009 report, which included an interesting tidbit: early, vigorous attack on wildfires resulted in far fewer acres burned last year, reducing expenditures by millions of dollars (2). A summary of wildfires that burned in the vicinity of Yuma, Arizona, is provided by the next article (3); followed by an article from Provo, Utah, where firefighters battled a wildfire in some oily shrubbery yesterday (4). Firefighters in Weld County, Colorado, grappled with a 500-acre blaze yesterday (5); firefighters in Oklahoma have a few tense days ahead as windy weather combines with dry fuels to provide ideal wildfire conditions (6); and as temperatures rise, several Texas counties are implementing burn bans due to the wildfire danger (7). A lawsuit in Bastrop County, Texas, is targeting a power company for a massive wildfire last year (8); while Michigan's Department of Natural Resources and Environment is expecting a busy fire season in the Upper Peninsula as April begins (9). Until the end of April, Virginians have been put under outdoor fire restrictions, backed up with some hefty penalties (10); but firefighters have already battled blazes in Forrest County, Mississippi (11). To implement their 'one strike' policy against wildfires the Canadian province of Ontario is equipping their wildland firefighters with several recently-purchased helicopters from Eurocopter (12); even as Alberta's fire season kicked off, prompting the Minister Of Sustainable Resource Development to caution residents of that province about the fire danger in a very dry year (13). Rugged terrain is stifling firefighters' efforts to corral an outbreak of bushfires on the Caribbean island of Trinidad (14); and a wildfire in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines, scorched nearly 100 acres of forest (15). Another blaze was reported on the edge of Sanjay Gandhi National Park north of Mumbai, India (16); while a community near Hazaribagh National Park is enacting its own version of Arson Watch (17). The Coordinator of the South Asian Wildfire Management Network provided insight into the scope of wildfires in the Himalayan nation of Nepal, where 74 homes have been destroyed by fires so far this year (18). Vietnam is once again in the news as the unprecedented drought increases the risk of wildfires in 22 provinces (19). Testimony in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court hearings over the 2003 bushfires continued, including some details on a volunteer firefighter unit's 'revolt' (20); while testimony before the Royal Bushfire Commission discussed the mixed signals sent by Country Fire Authority's new bushfire warning system (21). As the Arson Prevention Symposium in Melbourne opened, the Australian Attorney General pointed out the cost in billions to the nation from arson fires every year (22); and a gold mine in Victoria ran a series of drills, including a mock bushfire emergency, to evaluate their responsiveness to the real deal (23). Residents of a South Australia community worry that firefighters will not have any water for firefighting if the power is cut (24). And finally, San Francisco firefighters, who have probably gotten a few calls to rescue cats, had to rescue one that was bigger than most... a lot bigger!

(1) Forest prescribed burning to start

(2) State DNR 2009 Annual Report released online

(3) Weekend wildfires burn more than 100 acres

(4) Power interrupted for some during Provo wildfire

(5) Firefighters battle groundcover blaze in eastern Weld

(6) Fire danger and warm conditions for Oklahoma

(7) High temperatures hike danger of fires

(8) 20 families sue over Bastrop wildfire

(9) DNRE warns of fire

(10) Fire danger exists despite wet winter

(11) Fires spread throughout southern Forrest County

(12) Eurocopter Canada Announces the Sale of Three EC130 B4 Helicopters to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

(13) Don’t be foolish in the forest, says minister

(14) Bush fires ravage hills

(15) 40.5 hectare CBFM areas destroyed by fires, says NVizcaya DENR

(16) Fire rages at Yeoor Hills

(17) Villagers keep watch against forest fires

(18) Forest fires at over 120 spots in a single day

(19) VIETNAM: Drought heightens forest-fire risk

(20) Bushfire victims recall devastation

(21) New CFA warnings give 'very bad advice', commission told

(22) AG opens Arson Prevention Symposium

(23) Mine emergency training

(24) Out on a limb in power cuts

(25) Firefighters pull lazy S.F. Zoo tiger from moat