WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 062910

First up in wildfire news today, fire crews roped in a five-acre blaze along California's Central Coast (1); while CAL FIRE employed bulldozers to help control a fire near Clear Lake (2). Officials from the Oregon Department of Forestry cautioned campers about the dangers their campfires pose to the surrounding forest (3); but firefighters in Oregon were able to finally contain a 1,000 acre wildfire caused by sparks from a trailer (4). Officials in Washington state reminded residents that they face hefty fines and possible jail time for using fireworks in national forests (5). A 25-acre wildfire was reported in Nevada, one of the first of the fire season (6); while firefighters in Reno battled a small wildfire northwest of town (7). A wildfire in Arizona's Tonto National Forest which had burned 187 acres has now been fully contained (8); while another, smaller blaze was reported in the same area (9). The Schultz Fire, which has burned over 15,000 acres near Flagstaff, is now 75% contained (10); and although a resident of Northern Arizona laments the damage being done to the San Francisco Peaks natural area by wildfires (11); some businesses in Flagstaff are benefiting from the situation (12). A pair of wildfires have been reported near Safford, Arizona (13); while Colorado fire officials continue to predict an average fire season for that state (however average translates into 2,800 fires burning 65,000 acres - and a hefty tab to go with it!) (14) National Transportation Safety Board officials continue to probe the crash of a P-2V air-tanker that lost its brakes shortly after landing at an air attack base outside of Denver (15). A 41-year veteran of the Maryland Forest Service reflected on his career and the wildfires that stand out sharply in his mind (16). Firefighters in New Jersey wisely decided to use backfires to battle a blaze on a military ordnance range, rather than send in firefighters with unexploded ordnance scattered throughout the area (17); one of three active blazes in that state (18). As temperatures increase in Alaska, so has fire activity (19); and cadets from the Interior Wildland Fire Academy got a baptism of fire battle in a wildland blaze (20). The pros and cons of becoming a wildland firefighter are highlighted in the next article (21). Although fire activity remains diminished in Ontario, Canada, one wildfire which has burned hundreds of acres is still out of control (22); while the Cumbria Wildfire Group, a wildland firefighting force in the UK, is profiled in the next item (23). Firefighters in Israel had to respond to a wildfire to the west of Jerusalem (24); and several others were reported across the country as a heat wave provided ideal fire conditions (25). Dozens of dry lightning wildfires that have broken out in China's Greater Hinggan Mountains are being battled by 16,000 firefighters, with another 3,000 on the way (26). Even 17 months after Australia's Black Saturday bushfires, the Victorian mountain hamlet of Marysville has been slow to rebuild due to bureaucratic red tape (27); but Rotary Club members have been helping their less fortunate neighbors impacted by the bushfires (28). Claims of illegal logging of old-growth trees by environmental groups may land VicForests in court (29); while a shire in Victoria has designated five more bushfire safer places (30). A woman whose son was killed during the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria is one of the lead plaintiffs in a large class-action suit against a power company deemed responsible for that blaze (31); while residents of one Western Australia town are about ready to sue their local power company as well (32). And finally, researchers at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne give us an intriguing look at how technology could aid firefighters in the future with tiny flying robots!

(1) Crews Contain A Fire Near Atascadero

(2) Dozers used for fire in field

(3) Don't let your campfire start a forest fire

(4) Firefighters Contain 1,000-Acre Wildfire Near The Dalles

(5) Fireworks stands legally open in Washington state

(6) Firefighters Battle 'Mule Springs Fire'

(7) Reno Firefighters Mop Up Brush Fire in Northwest Reno

(8) Tonto Forest's Sycamore Fire fully contained

(9) Corral Fire in Tonto Forest burns 5 acres, quickly contained

(10) Wildfire near Flagstaff now 75 percent contained

(11) The San Francisco Peaks will never be the same

(12) Wildfires light up sales for some Flagstaff businesses

(13) New wildfire burning near Safford, Arizona

(14) Fire Managers Continue to Predict Average Summer

(15) Authorities still probing slurry plane crash at Broomfield airport

(16) Maryland forester Bernie Zlomek ending state career

(17) Firefighters battle blaze at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

(18) N.J. dealing with three forest fires in Pinelands, including Fort Dix

(19) Alaska Wildfire Activity Increases With Warmer Temperatures

(20) New Alaska firefighter training program passes trial by fire

(21) Pros and cons of becoming a wildland firefighter

(22) Hearst forest fire still burning out of control

(23) New rescue group gets on like wildfire

(24) Major Forest Fire Near Beit Shemesh

(25) Fires break out across Israel

(26) 16,000 Firemen Battling Forest Fires in N China

(27) Marysville residents battle red tape

(28) Rotary Club helps bushfire victims

(29) VicForests accused of felling old-growth mountain ash

(30) Nillumbik gives OK to five more refuges

(31) St Andrew woman leads bushfire legal claim

(32) Toodyay residents close to suing

(33) Flying robots could monitor forest-fire effects