WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 053110

First up in wildfire news today, fire crews in Santa Barbara County battled a small blaze on Saturday (1); and an update on wildfires in Arizona is provided by the next item (2); where hundreds of firefighters have been called in to fight the blazes (3). New Mexico's Silver City Hotshots were airlifted to a fire in Gila National Forest to help bring it under control (4); and an article from Jefferson County, Colorado, examines what the fire season may hold for the region (5); while people reflected on the lessons learned from a massive wildfire in Loveland 10 years ago (6). A 60 acre wildfire in Texas' Big Bend National Park was being managed to benefit the ecosystem (7). Firefighters in Maine used portable pumps in boats to battle an island wildfire (8); while elsewhere in that state, residents complained of forest fire smoke blowing in from Québec which they thought might be from local wildfires (9); but residents of Addison actually did have a small wind-driven blaze break out on Sunday (10). Smoke from the Canadian wildfires is also affecting parts of New Hampshire (11); as well as Upstate New York (12); and Massachusetts (13). As firefighters in Alaska battles scores of fires, the forecast for Memorial Day was not encouraging (14). British Columbia's First Nations Forestry Council is complaining that too many communities still have no wildfire protection plans (15); even as that Canadian province continues to dispatch crews to help with wildfires in other parts of the country (16). Quick responses by both civilians and firefighters helped snuff a wildfire in Sudbury, Ontario, early on (17); but even the Canadian capital of Ottawa is reporting the smell of smoke in the air (18); as are other communities in Eastern Ontario (19). People with respiratory problems are being advised to stay indoors in Montréal due to excessive smoke in the air from Québec's wildfires (20); and with over 150,000 acres burned so far, the wildfires in that province are being called a forest disaster, as the next two articles show (21)(22). Fire crews in Newhaven, UK, had to deal with a 4 acre gorse fire over the weekend (23); while the Japanese are turning their innovative minds towards designing a better forest firefighting truck in a country which sees an average of 2,000 wildfires per year (24). Heading Down Under, the trial of a man accused of starting one of the Black Saturday bushfires has already lined up 150 witnesses (25); that is, assuming he survives to make it to trial (26). Replacing the interim standards put in place by the Royal Bushfire Commission, new regulations by the Victorian Government specify how bushfire bunkers should be constructed in that state (27); and in the wake of those hearings, one community in Victoria is inaugurating a new fire brigade (28). An Op-Ed piece examines the apparent aversion of the Royal Bushfire Commission to blame climate change as a factor in increased bushfire activity in Australia (29). And finally, firefighters in Riverside, California, probably deserved hazardous-duty pay in trying to bring a house fire under control while coping with an electric fence and exploding ammunition!

(1) UPDATE: Blaze burns about 8 acres near Graciosa Road

(2) Crews continue fighting Horseshoe Fire in Chiricahua Mountains

(3) 500 crew members called in to help contain growing fire in eastern AZ

(4) Silver City Hotshots respond to fire

(5) Mid-July Could Be Prime Wildfire Season In JeffCo

(6) Lessons learned from Bobcat Gulch have better prepared firefighters, homeowners

(7) Wildfire near Santa Elena Canyon still burning

(8) Firefighters fight blaze on island on Long Pond

(9) Smoke from Quebec wildfires drifts into Maine

(10) Forest fire burns 6 acres in Addison

(11) Smoke from Canadian Fire Filters into New Hampshire

(12) Smoke from forest fire in Canada affecting North Country

(13) Smoke from Canadian wildfires blankets Nantucket

(14) Widespread wildfires make Memorial Day weekend a scorcher

(15) B.C. native leaders call for wildfire aid

(16) B.C. sends 157 to help combat wildfires in Ontario, Quebec

(17) Fire hotspot

(18) Ottawa smoke likely from distant fires

(19) Forest fire smoke prompts air quality warning

(20) Forest fire smoke chokes Montreal area

(21) Several dozen Canadian wild fires are burning in Quebec; several thousand people displaced

(22) Firefighters facing "a real monster," Que. official says

(23) Four acre bush fire burns all night in Newhaven

(24) Morita to Present Forest Fire Fighting Truck at the World's Largest International Trade Fair for Public Safety INTERSCHUTZ 2010

(25) 150 witnesses for Black Saturday bushfires trial

(26) Bushfire accused 'choked' in custody

(27) New standards for bushfire bunkers

(28) Brigade will work behind the scenes

(29) Bushfire commission in denial over hard climate truths

(30) Electrified fence, ammunition slow down firefighters