WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 050710

Residents of Yucaipa, California, received a personal visit from a CAL FIRE Unit Chief as part of the kickoff ceremonies for Wildfire Awareness Week (1); followed by a photo spread of a Reservation fire in Imperial County (2). Residents of picturesque Big Sur are being reminded to implement wildfire protections despite the heavy rains earlier this year (3); and as the onset of wildfire season in the Pacific Northwest nears, a newspaper from Oregon takes a look at precautions for homeowners (4). Officials in Arizona's Coconino National Forest are battling their first wildfire of the season (5); and another was burning in the Coronado National Forest (6). Firefighters battling a wildfire in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains are wary of windy conditions (7). The Bureau of Land Management will be conducting thinning operations near Paonia, Colorado (8); while fire officials have confirmed that a pair of wildfires elsewhere in that state were caused by a down powerline and a smoldering pile of ashes (9). The threat of wildfire amongst groves of beetle-killed trees to Fort Collins' water supply is examined by the next article (10); followed by an article that focuses on barbed-wire fencing, which contains a good deal of information about the effect of wildfires on pitch production in pine trees (11). Events surrounding the third annual observance of a massive wildfire that burned on the Canadian border of Minnesota are examined in the next item (12); but fire investigators in Pennsylvania are still trying to figure out what sparked a 20 acre wildfire in Marshburg (13). Florida's Apalachicola National Forest conducted some controlled burns today (14). The National Weather Service has issued a 'Red Flag' warning for several of the Hawaiian Islands (15); which was cold comfort for firefighters battling an 1,100 acre blaze on Maui (16). The National Institute of Standards and Technology provided some interesting statistics about improved efficiency of four-person firefighting crews in the next item (17). With dry conditions and a forecast of warmer weather ahead, Canada's Yukon is anticipating a busy wildfire season (18); but precipitation, along with lower temperatures, greatly reduced the wildfire danger in India's Himachal Pradesh state, an area which has seen thousands of acres of trees destroyed since the beginning of April (19). Heading to Australia, residents of Queensland's Gold Coast are being informed by pamphlets of the whereabouts of newly-established disaster centers (20). Even though Victoria's Emergency Services Minister felt it was unwise for the Police Commissioner to leave her post on Black Saturday, he believed she had a structure in place to handle the emergency in her absence (21). And finally, a firefighter in the UK will be getting back to work with a bionic arm, something that offers hope to other firefighters who may lose a limb and fear losing a job as a result!

(1) Wildfire Awareness, Arson Prevention kick off in town

(2) Reservation fire (photos)

(3) Remembering Our "Summer of Smoke"

(4) Severe Weather Awareness Week: Wildfires

(5) Forest fire closes highway north of Flagstaff

(6) Wildfire burning near Portal Arizona

(7) Officials fighting forest fire eye winds

(8) BLM plans to reduce wildfire threat near Paonia

(9) Causes identified in 2 Colorado foothills wildfires

(10) Officials study threat to Fort Collins' water supply from beetle-kill trees

(11) Barbed-wire pitch posts preserve forest history

(12) Third annual Gunflint Green Up getting under way

(13) Cause of 20-acre wildfire in Marshburg remains unknown

(14) Apalachicola National Forest Prescribed Burning Friday

(15) Dry conditions, gusty trades lead to wildfire warning

(16) Maui brushfire now 80 percent contained, firefighters say

(17) 4-person firefighting crews

(18) Yukon wildfire officials brace for new season

(19) Temperature plummets in Himachal after rain

(20) Disaster centres a secret

(21) Operational matters not my responsibility: Cameron

(22) UK Firefighter With Bionic Arm Wants to Work Again