WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111710

We start out Wildfire News Of The Day with a headline from yesteryear that looks at a destructive wildfire that burned dozens of homes in the Southern California community of Bradbury on this date in 1980 (1); but a more recent blaze was sparked on Figueroa Mountain along the Central Coast during a controlled burn that broke out of containment lines and has burned 150 acres so far (2). Fire agencies in Idaho feel they dodged a bullet with a below-average wildfire season this past year (3); while the Texas Forest Service is appealing to the public for help tracking down a suspected arsonist who lit several wildfires earlier this month in Rusk County (4). Two people, one a US Forest Service firefighter, have been arrested for lighting trees on fire in Montana's Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest (5); even as US Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell comments on the agency's strategy for dealing with millions of acres of beetle-killed trees in the West (6). Firefighters in Meigs Township, Ohio, battled a 56-acre wildfire that burned some forested areas (7). University of Kentucky's Agricultural Weather Center and firefighters who've been battling wildfires throughout the state are hopeful that recent rains will be the end of the drought (and the wildfires) for this year (8); and they're already helping in Page County, as the next story shows (9). The Virginia Department of Forestry is offering a reward for information about two arson wildfires that burned nearly 500 acres in Montgomery County (10); while fire crews battled a 120-acre wildfire in Nantahala, North Carolina (11); and a wildfire which briefly closed Interstate 95 in Brevard County, Florida, has now expanded to 500 acres and is only 25% contained (12). Fire authorities in Israel are anxiously scanning the skies for rain as wildfires continue to erupt in western Galilee and the Golan Heights (13); and the next article takes a closer look at how volunteer firefighters in the African nation of Ghana are preparing for the bushfire season (14). The Victorian Bushfires Reconstruction and Recovery Authority published a 21-month report on a rebuilding efforts in Diamond Valley which provides details on Australia's rebuilding effort in that region (15); but the next item shows that implementation of the Royal Bushfire Commission recommendations is still a political hot potato between political parties (16); this at a time when at least one community in Victoria will be setting aside six locations as bushfire refuges (17). Although a bushfire that was burning near Dandaragan, Western Australia, is diminishing, authorities still warned homeowners to remain vigilant in case it flares up again (18); but sensing the danger from bushfires, officials in the New South Wales town of Cootamundra are lobbying for construction of an air-tanker base nearby (19). A spokesman for Bushfires NT comments on the increased fire risk due to heavy rains earlier this year in the Northern Territory (20); which could be good news for a helicopter pilot who crashed fighting wildfires in Canada in 2005 and is now struggling to get his firefighting operation going after the anonymous donation of a heavy-lift helicopter (21). And finally, here's an alternative to the traditional smoke alarm that works for peanuts: a barking parrot!

(1)Wildfire Destroys 61 Homes in Bradbury

(2) Controlled Burn on Figueroa Mountain Out of Control

(3) Wet spring led to few wildfires

(4) Authorities seeking info. on suspicious fires in Rusk Co.

(5) A Forest Service employee and a 23-year-old man, both from Dillon, admit to setting fires

(6) Forest Service Boss Details Beetle Strategy

(7) Fire surges through 56 wooded acres

(8) Rain helps ease drought, gives wildfire crews a break

(9) Progress Made Fighting Wildfires

(10) 2 wildfires in Montgomery County ruled arsons

(11) Wildfire burns in Nantahala

(12) Brevard wildfire passes 500 acres — 25 percent contained, officials say

(13) Forest Fires Rage as Israel's Rainy Season Fails to Arrive

(14) Saboba District trains Fire Volunteers ahead of dry season

(15) Where Diamond Valley survivors stand

(16) Ryan rebuffs bushfire backflip claim

(17) Bushfire havens

(18) Brand Highway bushfire warning downgraded

(19) Council push for fire bomber base

(20) Summer fire risk

(21) Helicopter lift for pilot who lost everything

(22) Barking Parrot Alerts Neighbor To Medford Fire