WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 040810

First up in wildfire news today, Los Angeles Fire Department had a couple of small spot fires to battle near Metrolink tracks yesterday afternoon (1); while a bit to the northwest, David Baskett is showing off the BE-200 air-tanker in Santa Maria to fire officials and the general public (2). The city of Rocklin is hiring a crew to do vegetation clearance around residential areas that will work for food (though the shepherds require a different kind of green) (3); but a prisoner disappeared from a minimum security firefighting camp north of Redding (4). A Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) has been put into motion in San Miguel County, Colorado (5); and Utah Division of Forestry has unveiled a new CWPP for a La Sal Mountains community (6). A wildfire plan is being put into place in Casper, Wyoming, where the wildfire danger is considered to be extreme (7); but Minnesota, 'land of 10,000 lakes', is becoming a land of wildfires, with over 10,000 acres burned so far this year (8). Residents in a number of counties in Arkansas are being warned about the danger due to ideal wildfire weather (9); and Tennessee, where an estimated 1,500 acres have already burned this year, is still battling more blazes (10). Authorities have caught one arsonist in Kentucky, where there have been dozens of fires, but they fear more are still out there lighting wildfires (11). A trio of articles from Pennsylvania summarize the wildfire situation in a state where lots of wildfires have been reported (12)(13)(14). Staying in the Keystone State, firefighters tell how their training helps with battling wildfires (15); followed by an Op-Ed piece that provides tips to homeowners on how to protect their property from wildfires (16). A desperate fight on Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey required that several air-tankers, including a Vietnam-era helicopter, be pressed into service to slow its spread (17); but even with all the help, it surpassed the 100-acre mark (18). A wildfire was reported in Patterson, New York, yesterday afternoon (19); while another in Virginia's Roaring Run Recreational Area is almost fully contained (20). A wildfire in Bath County, Virginia, spread rapidly within the past 24 hours (21); and Allegheny County had an unexpected after-effect of a cookout yesterday: a wildfire! (22) With Red Flag warnings in dozens of counties, West Virginia is beset by wildfires, something that was verified by Wildfire News Of The Day subscriber M. Rodger Ozburn, who is a Regional Fire Specialist with West Virginia Division of Forestry: "We had a one-day change of 29 fires and 1,074 acres....over 200 fires and almost 7,000 acres so far for 2010" (23). Rainstorms doused a wildfire that had destroyed a home, several vehicles, and left three firefighters injured in Asheville, North Carolina, where three counties and the Cherokee Reservation suffered wildfires (24); but help is on the way, as Oklahoma sends fire crews to assist (25). Government officials in Alberta, Canada, are very worried about the wildfire outlook this year (26). Heading Down Under, controlled burns are key to a plan to reduce the bushfire danger along New South Wales' Central Coast (27); but the plight of one Australian farmer who has been denied bushfire relief funds is up next (28). Following revelations that Victoria's police commissioner left early on Black Saturday, the Royal Bushfire Commission is now focusing on the whereabouts of the co-ordinator-in-chief as the tragedy unfolded (29). One Victoria community has decided how to allocate thousands of dollars to help better defend their residents from future bushfires (30); while another, flush with $80,000 of bushfire relief money for a memorial, will address the issue in July (31). And finally, it's not everyday you find a fire station like one in East Anglia, UK, which has a wildlife sanctuary maintained by the firefighters!

(1) L.A. firefighters battle brush fire near Cypress Park

(2) State of the Art Firefighting Plane Lands in Santa Maria

(3) Rocklin herds its way to wildfire prevention

(4) Inmate escapes from Northern Calif fire camp

(5) SMC Community Wildfire Protection Plan in action

(6) Work completed on Willow Basin wildfire protection plan

(7) Wildfire wary: Plan helps protect Hogadon

(8) Wildfires continue popping up across much of Minnesota

(9) Weather conditions just right for wildfires

(10) More overnight wildfires keep firefighters busy

(11) Police: Man is caught setting a forest fire

(12) More than 25 acres burn near Mercersburg

(13) 15 wildfires herald start of fire season

(14) Cambria Forest Fire

(15) Training pays dividends for firefighters

(16) Proactive tactics can prevent fires

(17) Forest fire blackens Kittatinny Ridge

(18) Officials: Sussex Co. brush fire has burned 105 acres

(19) Patterson resident reports forest fire

(20) Roaring run wildfire in Botetourt Co. 80% contained

(21) Bath Co. wildfire grows nearly 10 times in size

(22) Forest fires erupt across the viewing area

(23) 4:21 p.m. - W.Va. coping with rash of forest fires

(24) Multiple wildfires scorch hundreds of acres in Asheville, WNC

(25) Oklahoma crews to battle NC wildfires

(26) Alberta resource minister says wildfire situation in province 'very serious'

(27) Gosford plan for bushfire prevention

(28) Desperate farmer denied bushfire relief

(29) Black Saturday inquiry shifts focus to minister

(30) Council decides on fire funding projects

(31) Hepburn Shire: Memorial Plan in July

(32) Firefighters’ green ideas blossoming