WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 030110

Wildfire News Of The Day kicks off with an Op-Ed piece from San Diego's North County Times which examines the thorny issue of fiscal responsibility for the 2007 wildfires in that area (1); while the head of US Forest Service's Northern Region discusses the difficulties ahead for Montana in regards to wildfires in the next item (2). Although the National Park Service is commencing a sustained attack on the bark beetle infestation around South Dakota's Mount Rushmore, they admit that they don't have enough money to completely fund the project (3); this coming at a time when politicians and forest owners in that state are worried about the Obama administration's proposed wildfire funding changes (4). Missouri's fire danger is increasing as spring nears (5); while Florida announced the beginning of "Prescribed Fire Awareness Week", with the Agricultural Commissioner touting the benefits of controlled burns, both to agriculture and residents (6); even as another Red Flag warning was issued today for Lee County (7). Residents of Cape Town, South Africa, flocked to the beaches to escape a heat wave, conditions which also put firefighters on high alert for veld fires in the province (8); and yet another wildfire was reported from the Philippines, this time in Quezon Province (9). A class-action suit filed in 2005 by survivors of bushfires in New South Wales and Australia Capital Territory has finally made it into court (10). Two chilling tales of death and destruction during Black Saturday were told to the Royal Bushfire Commission, as related by the following pair of articles (11)(12). In a sign that things are returning to normal, a Bushfire Recovery Centre in Victoria is reducing its operations as the need to connect bushfire survivors with public service organizations diminishes (13); but the next item accuses Tasmanian fire authorities of napalming clear-cut forested areas as a means of bushfire preventative measures (14). An article in New Scientist magazine discusses a new Closed-Circuit TeleVision (CCTV) system being developed at the University of Adelaide to detect bushfires (15). Firefighters in Western Australia battled bushfires in several places, including one on the outskirts of the state capital (16); prompting officials to issue evacuation alerts to farmers in wheat belt areas threatened by the blazes (17). And finally, an octogenarian from Oregon comments on his obsession: fire trucks!

(1) EDITORIAL: Distribute 2007 wildfire lawsuits' pain

(2) Northern Region's top forester discusses challenges agency faces

(3) Rushmore launching 100-day beetle attack

(4) Concerns remain despite increase in forest funding

(5) Warmer Weather Makes For Fire Possibilities

(6) Prescribed fire helps protect natural areas and safety of residents

(7) Red Flag Warning issued for Lee County

(8) Cape firefighters on alert

(9) Fire rages atop mountain near Banahaw

(10) Day in court for 2003 bushfire victims

(11) Bushfire victim taken by surprise

(12) Despite a father's desperate efforts, he could not save his family from fire

(13) Recovery centre scales down

(14) Burning debate fires up over forest felling

(15) CCTV surveillance system modified to work as bush-fire alarm

(16) Bushfires threaten homes across WA

(17) Bushfire threatens WA farming area

(18) One man's obsession with fire trucks