WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 090910

Southern California volunteer firefighters working for Orange County Fire Authority may soon find themselves under the budget-cutting knife (1); while firefighters in Palo Alto had a series of small wildfires along Highway 101 to extinguish yesterday (2); and CAL FIRE firefighters battled a 348-acre blaze in Northern California as well (3). As firefighters continued to grapple with a massive blaze in Boulder, Colorado, 135 homes have been reduced to ashes, making it one of the worst wildfires in Colorado's history (4); but steady rain on Wednesday raised the hope that the fire would spread no further (5). More details on the first moments of the Fourmile Fire, including calls for help from a firefighter whose property was ablaze, are provided by the next item (6); followed by one which shows that homeowners aren't the only ones that get evacuated during a wildfire (7). Although the Fourmile Fire will not be contained for 10 days yet, some homeowners will get to go home much sooner (8); but the weather could be taking a turn for the worse very soon (9). The next article provides a behind-the-scenes look at operations in the Fourmile Fire command post (10); followed by a segment from CBS News which explores the sense of community that keeps homeowners living in high-risk wildfire areas in Colorado (11). Air-tankers were assisting with a 100-acre blaze burning in Idaho (12); and a 100-acre wildfire burning west of Laramie, Wyoming, is now 50% contained (13). A thinning project costing almost $1 million is under way at South Dakota's Mount Rushmore National Memorial in hopes of making the area more resistant to wildfires (14); but a video segment from Wisconsin explores the concept that beetle-killed pine trees may actually decrease the damage done by wildfires (15). A wildfire was reported near the Potomac River in Frederick, Maryland (16); while it was déjà vu all over again for firefighters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, who received a report of a rapidly-expanding wildfire in the same area as the devastating Horry County blaze of 2009 (17); and the Georgia Forestry Commission has gotten a 65-acre wildfire under control (18). As Brazil suffers through the worst drought in 40 years, hundreds of wildfires have been reported across the country (19); while several more wildfires were reported in Spain yesterday (20). Wildfires continued to advance in Siberia and Kazakhstan (21); prompting Russia to declare a state of emergency in 13 Siberian districts, and put 1,500 firefighters on the line (22). BE-200 firefighting aircraft were in action yesterday, along with IL-76s and other firefighting aircraft (23); all of which were given permission by the government of Kazakhstan to cross the border during their operations (24); and they were back at it again this morning, assisted by Russia's firefighting trains (25). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Colin Stewart, a representative of Thermo-Gel in Australia, sent along an interesting video which contains reflections by Joe King, an American wildland firefighter for 40 years, on the current attitude towards wildland firefighting in the US (26); and Col also mentioned the AFAC conference of bushfire experts taking place in Darwin, Northern Territory (27); where there were some calls to curb personal freedoms in order to reduce the danger to civilians in bushfire country (28). And finally, stories from two of the last places you would expect to hear about wildland fires conclude today's news: the New York City borough of Staten Island had a blaze that forced NYPD helicopters to be pressed into service as air-tankers (29); and a wind-driven fire raced through dozens of homes in Detroit, Michigan!

(1) Half of volunteer firefighters could be cut

(2) Palo Alto firefighters quickly extinguish roadside blazes

(3) Petrolia fire size estimate reduced to 348 acres

(4) Colorado wildfire destroys 135 homes

(5) Rain brings hope to those affected

(6) Frantic calls from firefighter as flames raced through his property

(7) Animals in search of help during wildfire

(8) Forest Service: Fourmile fire won't be contained for 10 days

(9) Red Flag Warning Could Hurt Firefighting Efforts in Boulder

(10) Command post: Firefighters battle more than just flames

(11) The Colorado Wildfire, and the Sense of Community

(12) Wildfire burns northwest of Ashton

(13) Forest Fire in Fox Park - Update

(14) Tree thinning to make Mount Rushmore forests safer, healthier

(15) Beetles Reduce Forest Fire Risk

(16) Crews continue to battle wild fire near Point of Rocks

(17) Blaze rekindles memories of devastating wildfire in Myrtle Beach area (with video)

(18) 65 Acre Forest Fire Under Control

(19) Fires rage across drought-ravaged Brazil

(20) EFFIS - Current Situation

(21) Forest fires kill five in Kazakhstan

(22) State of emergency imposed on 13 districts of Altai Territory

(23) Firefighting aircraft begin extinguishing wildfires in South Siberia

(24) Kazakhstan allows RF aviation to put out fires at border

(25) Aviation starts dousing wildfires in Altai Territory at dawn

(26) Joe King On Fire Suppression

(27) Bushfire experts meet in Darwin

(28) Curb freedoms to stop bushfire tragedies: Kirby

(29) Firefighters Battle Two Staten Island Brush Fires

(30) Winds push fires through dozens of Detroit homes