WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 032210

We begin wildfire news in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, where firefighters will be conducting controlled burns today (1); but firefighters in Rapid City, South Dakota, reported their first wildfire of the season - right in town! (2) Firefighters will be conducting controlled burns in Wisconsin's Horicon National Wildlife Refuge over the next few months (3). The Nature Conservancy sent along a reminder of their upcoming panel discussion of wildfires in Pennsylvania and the East Coast that will be held at Penn State in April (4); something which is timely, as evidenced by the next two items: firefighters in Lackawanna County snuffed two wildfires over the weekend (5); but elsewhere in that state, a firefighter was injured while battling a blaze (6). The area burned by a 500-acre wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, over the weekend is now being examined by arson investigators (7); while a West Virginia fire department offers suggestions on safe debris burning as that state observes they spring fire season (8). Firefighters in North Carolina had their hands full with a spate of wildfires over the weekend (9); and firefighters in one South Carolina county were kept hopping by a number of wildfires as well (10). The National Weather Service has stated that the lowest snowfall in Alaska's history will not increase the wildfire danger this summer (11). On the technology front, another vendor has unveiled a firefighting robot whose intention is to reduce firefighter injuries by boldly going where they fear to tread (12). More warnings about the mild winter and early spring leading to wildfires have been issued by British Columbia's Ministry of Natural Resources (13); with one Fire Information Officer advising debris-burners to make sure they fires are fully extinguished (14); even as construction of the new Wildfire Co-ordination Centre nears completion in Kamloops, prompting operations personnel to begin relocating from the current headquarters in Victoria (15). Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating a blaze in Nova Scotia's Guysborough County (16). A national park on Mt. Avila, right outside Venezuela's capital of Caracas, is once again on fire, as that South American nation continues to suffer through a drought (17). Thousands of Chinese police and firefighters battled blazes in the southwestern part of that country over the weekend (18); and Tibet has been beset by forest fires, like its Himalayan neighbors (19); including Nepal, whose Panchthar district is once again experiencing a spate of wildfires in its national parks (20). Mother Nature did what Philippine firefighters could not, extinguishing a blaze in Palawan with a rainstorm (21); while the executive director of a non-profit offers suggestions on how better to prevent and fight wildfires while using less water in that drought-stricken archipelago (22). A small wildfire that broke out in the world's largest mangrove forest, located in the Asian nation of Bangladesh, has been extinguished (23); and hundreds of acres of forest that were hard hit by wildfires in Malaysia have fully recovered, according to government officials (24); but its neighbor Brunei has decided to fight fire with... parks! (25) Heading Down Under, one New South Wales community has issued a new bushfire risk analysis for public review (26); while one of the boys charged with lighting a bushfire on New Year's Eve in New South Wales has pleaded guilty (27). Although police have arrested a suspect in two burglaries of a Victoria school's bushfire donations, the items stolen have yet to be recovered (28). And finally, a cautionary tale from France that may make you think twice about being seen on security cameras: Spanish firefighters were mistakenly identified as terrorists!

(1) Sunriver travelers: expect a bit of smoke Monday

(2) Small grass fire extinguished in town

(3) Burns planned for Horicon National Wildlife Refuge

(4) Fire in the Eastern United States: A Legal and Cultural History

(5) Firefighters battle brush fires in Lackawanna County

(6) Ford Cliff firefighter hospitalized while battling brush fire

(7) NJ Forest Fire Under Control; Arson Likely

(8) Wheeling Fire Department Offers Tips for Safer Debris Burning

(9) Brunswick Co. emergency workers busy with wildfires

(10) Lexington County firefighters kept busy

(11) Don't worry, snowfall not a wildfire factor

(12) Firegard Helps To Protect Our Firefighters

(13) Mild winter may spark forest fires

(14) Officials encourage landowners to check for holdover fires

(15) Province's wildfire HQ on the move to Kamloops

(16) Arson suspected in forest fire

(17) Forest Fires Rage Outside Caracas

(18) 2,000 mobilized to fight SW China forest fire

(19) Forest fire raging in Tibet

(20) Wildfire rages in Panchthar

(21) Rains drench Palawan forest fire

(22) How to fight forest fire sans water

(23) Sundarbans forest fire extinguished

(24) Pahang's Forest Fire-Affected Areas Have Recovered

(25) More Parks Planned In Fire-Prone Areas To Counter Forest Blazes

(26) Bushfire risk plan released

(27) Mt Clear bushfire guilty plea

(28) Man charged over bushfire donation theft

(29) Firefighters depicted as ETA suspects consider lawsuits