WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 081610

A weeklong heatwave in Southern California has fire agencies on alert (1); while a wildfire has burned 32 acres near Palm Springs, where an arson suspect has been arrested (2); and another burning in the Cleveland National Forest in northern San Diego County was contained after burning 6 acres (3). CAL FIRE battled a five-acre wildfire along the Monterey coast (4); while a quartet of wildfires which had merged into the Caribou Complex in Plumas National Forest is now 95% contained (5); over 450 lightning strikes having been recorded in Northern California this weekend, some of them sparking wildfires (6). CAL FIRE reported a wildfire in Shasta County over the weekend (7); and a wildfire in Josephine County, Oregon, has now exceeded 500 acres (8); while another burning in the Rogue River Valley is now the largest wildfire in the US (9). A wildfire in Washington state burned 12,000 acres before containment over the weekend (10); while lightning strikes in the Cascades sparked a wildfire near Lake Wenatchee, as well (11); but a 60-acre wildfire burning in Clark County is beginning to lie down with the arrival of cool weather (12). Two small wildfires have been reported in Arizona's Catalina Mountains (13); and a house fire in Boulder County, Colorado, nearly became a forest fire as the flames spread to nearby vegetation (14). A wildfire in Utah that started near a police firing range has burned 60 acres and is now 45% contained (15); while Arkansas Forestry Commission bulldozers hemmed in a wildfire in Washington County yesterday (16). The Maine Forest Service had to transport pumps to a remote island to battle a wildfire (17); and a small wildfire in Alaska put out a lot of smoke! (18) Trouble in paradise, where a three-acre wildfire near Lahaina, Maui, destroyed two cars (19). A wildfire on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, kept Canadian firefighters busy over the weekend (20); and approximately 260 new wildfires have cropped up all over the province, forcing some evacuations (21); while another near New Aiyansh has also been reported (22). A prolonged dry spell, coupled with low humidity, has proved disastrous for Brazil's forests, where wildfires are burning (23). The European wildfire situation is heating up, with blazes reported in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Bosnia, and Albania, as well as in the North African nation of Algeria (24); more details on the Iberian fires being provided in the following two articles (25)(26). Wildfires in Russia are giving way to severe storms, as 100,000 residents of St. Petersburg lost power over the weekend, detailed in the next two articles (27)(28); nevertheless, there are still plenty of wildfires burning, some of them in the Ural Mountains (29); a number being fought by specialized firefighting trains that travel around the country dousing blazes (30). The next article takes an in-depth look at why Russia has had so much trouble fighting recent wildfires (hint: if you cut your firefighting force down from 9,000 to only 1,800 personnel, you'd probably have difficulty fighting so many wildfires, too!) (31) Russia's president has tasked businessmen with contributing money to help rebuild villages destroyed by the wildfires (32); while the Russian government's history of cover-ups, coming to the fore in the current wildfire crisis, is examined in Op-Ed piece (33); no doubt something the Norwegian Radiation Protection Agency had in mind when, despite Russian assurances that radioactive smoke is not being emitted by wildfires near the Chernobyl nuclear site, it began monitoring smoke drifting into Norway's airspace (34). Heading to Australia, the Victorian government conducted a publicity blitz with three press releases: the first one about the addition of 700 volunteer spots to the existing 3,000 permanent firefighters (35); the second dealing with transmission line safety (36); and the last introducing the new head of the bushfire recovery effort (37). Christine Nixon, the outgoing bushfire recovery head, discussed the job on a radio talk show (38). South Australia's Country Fire Service Chief Officer expressed fear that winter rains will significantly increase the bushfire danger due to extra vegetation growth (39); while volunteer firefighters in New South Wales are requesting $26 million to bolster their bushfire readiness (40). Bushfire survivors in Western Australia are complaining that the Premier is not putting enough pressure on Western Power to accept obligation for a destructive fire that burned through Toodyay (41); but a bushfire which burned close to homes over the weekend in the Northern Territory appears to be arson (42). And finally, scientists in Russia have developed a new firefighting weapon, a 500 kg retardant bomb, which means firefighters on the ground have to worry about more than just getting 'slimed' by air attacks now!

(1) High temperatures bring fire worries in L.A. area

(2) Brush fire in San Jacinto Mountains expected to be contained tonight

(3) Wildfire Near Camp Pendleton Halted At 6 Acres

(4) Firefighters Battle Brush Fire

(5) Fire causes traffic problems in Feather River Canyon

(6) Lightning strikes cause about a dozen area fires

(7) CalFire Crews Fight Forest Fire Near Whitmore

(8) Josephine County wildfire now at 500 acres

(9) Ore. wildfire burns on edge of 2002 Biscuit Fire

(10) Wildfire burned 12,000 acres near Kahlotus

(11) Forest fire burning in Cascades

(12) Relief for fire crews on Larch Mountain

(13) Two small fires burning in Catalina Mountains

(14) Blaze at house nearly starts forest fire

(15) Parleys Canyon wildfire about 45 percent contained

(16) Firefighters Battle Large Grassfire Near Lincoln

(17) Smoldering fire blamed for remote Pushaw Lake camp blaze

(18) Alaska wildfire has heavy smoke from 5 acres

(19) Fire burns cars, 3 acres

(20) Crews battle blaze near Jordan River, story and photos

(21) B.C. evacuations expand as 25 new wildfires join existing blazes

(22) Forest fire burns near New Aiyansh

(23) Wildfires rage through Brazil's forests

(24) EFFIS - Current Situation

(25) Wildfires rage in Portugal

(26) Spain, Portugal combat 19 wildfires as cooler weather arrives to ease firefighting

(27) Severe storms hit Russia as fires abate

(28) Wildfires in Russia shrink by 8,000 hectares in one day

(29) Efforts stepped up in fight against wildfires in Russian Urals

(30) Firefighting trains working overtime in battle against wildfires

(31) Why Russia can't fight wildfires properly

(32) Russia's Medvedev asks tycoons for wildfire help

(33) As Russia burns, culture of cover-ups and neglect ignites political spot fires

(34) Russian fires closely monitored

(35) Victorian Government Calls for Seasonal Firefighters

(36) New Bill To Improve Bushfire Safety before Summer

(37) New Chair To Oversee Next Stage of Bushfire Recovery

(38) Nixon reflects on bushfire recovery role

(39) Thick rain-fed vegetation trigger bushfire fears

(40) Firies seek $20m more for fuel burn

(41) Fire victims push Barnett

(42) Deliberate fire comes within metres of homes

(43) Russian experts develop a fire extinguishing bomb