WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 042010

First up in wildfire news today, the ongoing saga of a former Marine whose property is being auctioned off in San Diego County to pay wildfire vegetation clearance fines is examined in greater detail in an article sent along by Rick Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute (1); while logging, burning, and grazing are in the works to reduce the wildfire threat around the Central California community of Hayward (2). Montana's Bitterroot Valley will be the site of several controlled burns in the near future (3); but arson investigators have determined that the wildfire which burned near Rome, Wisconsin, this past weekend started because of an illegal campfire (4). A man is facing six months in jail and a $5000 fine for starting a wildfire while burning debris in Ohio (5); and Kentucky Division of Forestry reported that a house fire in Perry County had spread to 8 acres of surrounding vegetation (6). Registration has begun for Maine's State Wildfire Training Academy classes which will begin in June (7); but a number of firefighters are getting some hands-on experience in the meantime as a serial arsonist has set nearly 3 dozen fires in Washington County (8). Putting lessons learned from battling a major wildfire last year in Horry County, South Carolina, to work, firefighters there are focusing training more on battling such blazes (9); but the National Volunteer Fire Council has reported an 8% drop in volunteer firefighters across the US, something which is having a serious impact on rural communities (10). A study from the United Nations takes a look at wildfires from a global perspective, as that organization unveiled an updated version of their Wildland Fire Management Handbook for Trainers handbook (11). Heading to Canada, our next article provides a look at British Columbia's Wildfire Risk Reduction Program (12); even as upwards of 65 wildfires continue to burn in Alberta (13). Tinder dry conditions in Manitoba province have prompted fire officials to ban open burning, while imposing a $10,000 fine on ATVs operating in restricted areas (14); but although wildfires remain scarce during Wildfire Prevention Week in Ontario, fire authorities fear that could soon change (15). With summer in India picking up steam, wildlife is suffering from a lack of water, something which could also make wildfires there much worse (16). Part of Country Fire Authority's communications problems stemmed from duplicated pager messages, delaying some messages from arriving for as much as 12 hours during Australia's Black Saturday bushfires last year (17). In the continuing war of words over former Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon, a former recovery chief offers her praise (18); but even though the bushfire season is officially over, our next article provides tips for how homeowners in that state (and by extension, to anyone living in the bush) to protect their property from bushfires (19). A Country Fire Service workshop in South Australia aims to educate women living in rural areas on what to do when bushfires threaten their homes (20); something which some residents may have already put to use with two new bushfires in that state (21). And finally, a cautionary tale from San Diego, California, where a CAL FIRE Battalion chief who stopped to help an accident site had his official truck stolen by one of the victims!

(1) Property owner out on a limb

(2) Parks wildfire plan up for vote

(3) Smoke coming to the Bitterroot Valley

(4) Campfire blamed for Saturday wildfire

(5) Man Charged In Wayne National Forest Blaze

(6) Perry County wildfire

(7) Maine State Wildfire Training Academy Set to Begin

(8) Rash of Down East wildfires deliberate

(9) Horry County Fire Rescue operating new wildfire facility

(10) Busy Fire Departments Cope With Fewer Volunteers

(11) Local communities must be trained to combat human-caused wildfires, UN says

(12) Hedley prepares for wildfire season

(13) Firefighters kept busy dousing wildfires across Alberta

(14) Province being proactive in preventing forest fires

(15) Forest Fire Risk Still Considered High In Sault Ste. Marie

(16) Parched water bodies, forest fires encumber animals

(17) CFA's 'very sloppy' approach to sending pager messages

(18) Ex-fire recovery chief lauds Nixon contribution

(19) Fire preparation still top of mind

(20) CFS workshops empower women to make confident decisions in bushfire emergencies

(21) Riverton fire under control

(22) Firefighter's pickup is stolen, quickly abandoned