WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 081410

CAL FIRE firefighters managed to corral a wildfire in Napa Valley, California, that was started by a lawnmower yesterday (1); but rugged terrain made for some tough firefighting in Plumas County, where four wildfires were burning (2). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that logging of old growth forest can resume in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest to reduce the wildfire threat (3). Arson inspectors in Oregon are checking the origins of two suspicious wildfires in Washington County (4); and firefighters were also keeping an eye on a controlled grass fire in Ashland (5). Fire officials in Washington state warned that the fire danger in the Cascades is elevated this weekend (6); while a wildfire in Olympic National Park is being allowed to burn for ecological purposes (7); another fire being reported in the southwestern part of the state (8); and one more near Franklin in the east (9). Rehabilitation of Schultz Fire burn areas in the Coconino National Forest north of Flagstaff, Arizona, is proceeding, funded by a $970,000 grant (10); while a wildfire has burned about 75 acres northwest of Grand Junction, Colorado (11). A 20-acre lightning-sparked wildfire was reported in rugged terrain in Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park (12). The Associated Press takes a look at the changes in wildfire-fighting in United States following the "Big Burn" of 1910 that scorched 3,000,000 acres in the Western US (13). Nearly 200 firefighters continued to battle a 755-acre blaze near Idaho's Sawtooth National Forest (14); and a wildfire that started on Oklahoma's Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge has pulled in firefighters from two counties (15). Firefighters on Oahu, Hawaii, were faced with a persistent wildfire which required their attention several times yesterday (16); while the next article provides more details about wildfires burning in four US national parks (17). Hot, dry conditions are fueling some 97 wildfires across British Columbia, Canada (18); where officials expressed frustration over careless people sparking several new wildfires (19); lightning being blamed for the rest (20). As wildfires in the Pelican Complex continue to burn in British Columbia (21); the suppression cost for wildfires that have burned in that province is approaching $100 million (22). Wildfires have been reported in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, in Oencia, Spain, and several in Portugal (23); where 26 fires continue to burn (24). Wildfires continued to abate in Russia (25); and the governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region commended firefighters for reducing the wildfires there (26); the head of Russia's nuclear agency issued a statement that radiation levels of smoke from wildfires burning in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster have not risen (27); even as two transport planes arrived from the US carrying much-needed firefighting equipment (28); something for which the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed thanks (29); while the smoke haze which has choked Moscow is now moving towards the Ural Mountains to the east (30); but the damage done to the government's image matches the devastation of its forests, as the next two articles show (31)(32). And finally, an article from Lodi, California, takes a look back at firefighting before the age of the cell phone!

(1) Lawnmower Ignites Wildfire in the Napa Valley

(2) New fires reported in the Feather River Canyon, Highway 70 closed

(3) Appeals court allows logging Ore. old growth

(4) Gaston investigating cause of two wildfires

(5) Firefighters monitoring site of Friday's grass fire in Ashland

(6) Wildfire risk high west of Cascades this weekend

(7) Wildfire in Olympic National Park allowed to burn

(8) Wildfire breaks out along Washington's Larch Mountain

(9) WILDFIRE: Firefighters at blaze between Kahlotus and Washtucna

(10) AZ forest receives more funding to treat fire area

(11) Crews battling wildfire in western Colo.

(12) Crews keeping wary eye on Bryce Canyon wildfire

(13) Giant fire set pace for Forest Service

(14) 755-acre fire continues to burn near Fairfield

(15) Wildfire continues to burn in NW Comanche Co.

(16) Firefighters Called Back To Makaha Brush Fire

(17) Number of Wildfires Burning Across Western National Parks

(18) Heat wave increases wildfire risk across B.C.

(19) Half of new B.C. fires were human-caused, says frustrated fire official

(20) More B.C. wildfires sparked by lightning

(21) Fires in the Pelcian Complex

(22) Forest firefighting costs near $100 million

(23) EFFIS - Current Situation

(24) Portugal: firefighters battling 26 forest blazes

(25) Fire situation improves around Moscow

(26) Rescuers succeed in decreasing forest fires twofold – Shantsev

(27) Russia: Official Says Wildfires Have Not Raised Radiation Levels

(28) US firefighting equipment arrives in Russia - Summary

(29) Russia thanks U.S. for help in smothering wildfires - Foreign Ministry

(30) Peat fires smog leaves Moscow, blankets Russia's Urals

(31) In the village left to burn by Russia's leaders, anger grows at the Kremlin over fires

(32) 'Wildfires damage Moscow's reputation'

(33) In the world of firefighting, reminders of the past remain