WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 040610

In our first wildfire article today, the International Association of Fire Chiefs has launched a new wildfire awareness campaign that was tested first in Southern California (1); while vintners in Mendocino County find their 2008 vintages tainted by smoke from a wildfire that burned in the area that year (2). A bridge in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was closed for a time due to a wildfire (3); Red Flag conditions are reported for Western Oklahoma, at least through today (4); and a wildfire in the Texas Panhandle burned some hay bales and a tractor as firefighters struggled to contain it (5). Fire officials reminded debris-burning residents of Portage County, Wisconsin, that most wildfires in the county start as debris fires (6); the danger being underscored by a wildfire elsewhere in that state which threatened structures before firefighters brought it under control (7). A firefighter battling a grass fire in Ohio suffered second- and third-degree burns, forcing emergency evacuation to a nearby hospital (8). A trio of articles provide a summary of wildfire activity across Pennsylvania (9)(10)(11). Fire officials in Kentucky are stalking an arsonist who has been busy lighting wildfires (12); while a wildfire in Carter County, Tennessee, kept firefighters, including heli-tankers, busy (13). Alabama firefighters had to respond to a 15-acre wildfire burning in Russell County yesterday (14); and firefighters in Maine doused a wildfire burning along railroad tracks, believed to have been sparked by a passing train (15). A Vermont firefighter has been accused of deliberately setting a wildfire (16); at the same time that firefighters in New Jersey, who easily contained three small wildfires near the site of a much larger blaze, fear they may have an arsonist at work (17). A wildfire was even reported on the outskirts of New York City, this one occurring in a Staten Island park (18). As the fire danger in parts of Virginia reached Level 4 (very high), burn bans went into effect for at least the next week (19); but Duke University has completed a study in North Carolina's Nantahala National Forest that sheds light on controlled burns in the area over thousands of years (20). Firefighters in the vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia, are worried that spring cleaning by residents will lead to an increase in wildfires (21); and Florida firefighters contained a wildfire that burned over 100 acres in the southern part of that state (22). Of six wildfires reported in Ontario, Canada, only one is apparently still burning (23); even as charges for a wildfire sparked by debris burning in that province will be decided in a court hearing today (24). The continuing drought on the Caribbean island of Trinidad has sparked 3,000 wildfires, leading to problems for farmers on the island (25); but with over 69,000 acres burned by wildfires since the beginning of the year, the fire siege has temporarily lifted in the South American nation of Colombia (26). Firefighters and villagers in India's Himalayan foothills are battling a wildfire that has caused some agricultural losses (27). As the 2003 Canberra, Australia, bushfire hearings continue, a fateful decision to let the fire burn was revealed in testimony (28); and former Victoria Police Commissioner Nixon was answering some hard questions about her activities during a critical period on Black Saturday (29). The bushfire-ravaged town of Marysville will get almost $3 million to help with rebuilding after Black Saturday (30); and a young planner who had helped with rebuilding efforts in Victoria after the Black Saturday bushfires was rewarded for her diligence - then used some of the prize money for more education so she could do an even better job! (31) Schoolkids in Cardinia, Victoria, created dozens of examples of bushfire art (32); while a designer who has been working with New South Wales' Rural Fire Service is set to create a home with a different approach to surviving bushfires (33). And finally, University of Kentucky is showcasing a device which creates an artificial fire-whirl at a tech show: call it fire under glass!

(1) IAFC Launches Wildfire Preparedness Initiative

(2) Lingering Affect Of 2008 Wildfires Impacting Mendocino Vintages

(3) Updated: Fire is at 50 acres; Bridge reopened at 7 p.m.

(4) Wildfire potential in western Oklahoma, severe thunderstorms to the east

(5) Borger firefighters working to contain grass fire

(6) Officials: Debris burning major cause of wildfires

(7) Wildfire contained before reaching buildings

(8) Firefighter Suffers Severe Burns While Fighting Grass Fire

(9) Northeastern Pa. Wildfire Under Control

(10) Firefighters injured battling brush fire

(11) Crews battle brush fires in Rush, Benner townships

(12) Officials still looking for wildfire arsonist

(13) UPDATE: Firefighters battling forest fire in Carter County

(14) Russell County fire: 10- 15-acre slow-burning fire stretches from Misty Forest to Sunderlan Baptist Church

(15) Monmouth firefighters douse woods fire

(16) Firefighter accused of setting grass fire

(17) Ocean County firefighters extinguish three brush fires near previous 500-acre forest fire

(18) Firefighters battle brush fire in Willowbrook Park

(19) Suffolk bans burning with rise of wildfire threat

(20) 4,000 Years of Data Support Prescribed Burns in Southern Appalachians

(21) Firefighters Concerned About Brush Fires

(22) 100-Acre Brush Fire 'Relatively Contained'

(23) Pair of new fires hit Atikokan area

(24) Charges expected to be laid Tuesday in Friday's forest fire

(25) Farmers report losses and small harvest

(26) Colombian forest fires subside

(27) Forest fire in north India destroys woodlands

(28) Mateship hampered firefighting decisions, court told

(29) Nixon defends decision to leave Black Saturday control centre

(30) Marysville to receive nearly $3m

(31) Planning pays off for bushfire worker

(32) Bushfire art to reflect on

(33) Home within home to ward off fire

(34) UK brings its research to the people