WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 031610

In our first wildfire story today, a homeowner whose property near Victorville, California, was badly damaged by last year's wildfires had to contend with metal thieves rummaging through the remains of his home (1); while Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is once again playing host to youngsters interested in learning more about wildland firefighting (2). The US Forest Service is requesting input from the public about replanting hundreds of acres burned in 2007's Angora Fire in Northern California (3); as fire officials in Southern Utah worry that recent rains will enhance the growth of cheatgrass, increasing the fire danger in that area (4). Two new forest supervisors have been appointed by US Forest Service in Montana's Flathead and Bitterroot National Forests (5); but they had better hit the ground running, since it sounds like it may be a busy fire season ahead! (6) Firefighters will be assisted by US Forest Service in burning some debris piles on the outskirts of Helena, Montana (7); and a debris fire that got out of control prompted firefighters to remind Texans living in Beaumont that recent rains haven't completely abated the wildfire threat to that community (8). The Maine Forest Service has raised the wildfire danger marker to 'high' across much of that state after one of the driest months on record (9); while volunteers from a FireWise community in New Jersey spent the weekend clearing out dead trees that were a wildfire hazard (10). Firefighters along Florida's Space Coast urged homeowners to heed the warning of a wildfire in Brevard County and clear defensible space around their homes (11). A Canadian firm has locked up a five-year contract with Ontario's fire agencies to provide twenty firefighting aircraft to that province (12); something that could prove important as the beginning of fire season is only two weeks off (13); although Eastern Ontario Model Forest officials are confident that there is no fire danger yet (14). Canadian firefighters in Fredericton, New Brunswick, have a serial arsonist who is setting grass fires on the loose (15); while a new public safety plan for dealing with emergencies, including forest fires, has been unveiled by the federal government (16). Firefighters on the Caribbean island of Cuba have had a busy time trying to contain wildfires there (17); and an Irish community found out the meaning of 'spreading like wildfire' when one erupted in County Mayo! (18) In a case of 'out of the frying pan and into the fire', hundreds of refugees from ethnic violence were chased out of their encampment by a wildfire in northeastern India (19); and another wildfire that was reported in Imphal damaged some homes in that eastern Indian state (20). An international airport in northern Thailand had serious visibility problems due to nearby bushfires (21); while a bushfire in Marlborough, New Zealand, forced residents to evacuate as dark, windy conditions made it difficult for aircraft to grapple with the blaze (22). Residents of Albany, Western Australia, harangued local politicians over the lack of vegetation clearance in Torndirrup National Park, something which they felt increased their vulnerability to bushfires (23); but in South Australia, Port Lincoln's sluggish response in lending earth-moving equipment to firefighters impacted the response of Country Fire Service firefighters to a bushfire that eventually destroyed over a dozen homes (24). The impact of bushfire fears on a local election in South Australia is examined in the next article (25); and in the wake of a bushfire caused by a wind tower in South Australia last year, residents of one town in Victoria are concerned about the same thing happening to them if construction of a wind measurement tower moves forward (26). A school was up in arms about brazen thieves who stole audio-visual equipment that had been donated to it after Black Saturday (27). And finally, authorities in Los Angeles County are faced with a mystery: who is the man who died in a wildfire in 2008?

(1) Wildfire victim hit by metal thieves

(2) Junior firefighters sought

(3) Planting proposed in Angora fire area

(4) Officials brace for fire season

(5) Oregon ranger to head forest

(6) Preparations underway for 2010 fire season

(7) City and Forest Service planning controlled burns

(8) Recent rains can't stop wildfires

(9) Fire Danger Comes Early

(10) Volunteers help reduce wildfire risk at Delaware Water Gap area

(11) Now's the time to prepare homes for Brevard's fire season

(12) Discovery Air's Hicks & Lawrence Subsidiary Awarded 5-Year Fire Services Contract by Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

(13) All MNR eyes on drying bush

(14) Dryness not adding to fire risk

(15) Grass fires keep department busy

(16) Ottawa unveils official emergency response plan

(17) Controlled Forest Fire in Mayari, Holguin

(18) Close call in Westport wildfire

(19) 1,900 Mizo refugees' camps destroyed in Tripura fire

(20) Wildfire at Langol hill

(21) Chiang Mai hit by smog

(22) Fire forces evacuation in Marlborough

(23) Albany residents lash authorities over fire

(24) Council accused of poor fire response

(25) Bushfire, traffic the hot topics

(26) Macedon tower safety queried

(27) Donations snatched from Strathewen school

(28) Charred body still unidentified since 2008 blaze