WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 042910
A stunning photograph of the DC-10 in action on a wildfire in Southern California last year leads off Wildfire News Of The Day today (1); and a press release from State Farm Insurance announced a grant of $50,000 to help the California Fire Alliance educate homeowners on defensible space around their homes (2). The projected fire season for Central Oregon is shaping up to be grim (3); this coming at a time when dozens of families were evacuated from Umatilla due to a wildfire (4). Arizona's Kaibab National Forest will begin burning debris piles in preparation for fire season in the Grand Canyon State (5); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Dan Ware, Public Relations Coordinator/Fire Information Officer for New Mexico State Forestry, sent along a link to information about a wildfire burning in New Mexico's high country which was sparked by a powerline (6). The FIT-5, basically a firefighter grenade which has been highlighted in Wildfire NOTD previously, is being demonstrated in Texas, where it is hoped they can help understaffed volunteer fire departments better control structure fires until additional help can arrive (for more information, visit their website) (7). The Nebraska Army National Guard conducted simulations at Mead Training Center in preparation for wildfire season (8); and a 100-acre wildfire was snuffed by Montana firefighters near Wolf Creek last night (9). A charity golf event will be held at Devils Tower in Hulett, Wyoming, to benefit Wildland Firefighter Foundation, an organization that supports families of injured and fallen wildland firefighters (10). The National Weather Service invoked a 'Red Flag' warning yesterday across Western Minnesota due to the extreme wildfire danger (11); as well as the northern part of the state (12); even as firefighters battled a blaze near the Old Vermilion Trail (13); and as if firefighters didn't already have enough to do, someone appears to be setting fires on an Indian reservation in northeastern Minnesota! (14) Arkansas's governor was on hand to help with distribution of wildfire fighting equipment to firefighters in Greenbrier (15); but the National Weather Service also issued 'Red Flag' warnings for Pennsylvania and New Jersey (16). The Maine Forest Service received reports of several new wildfires that were deliberately set (17); not something firefighters in Maryland want to face, as ideal wildfire weather is being forecast for that state today (18). A bipartisan group of US Senators is backing the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2010 bill, which will authorize $950 million to fund the Assistance to Firefighter Grants, Safer Grants, and the Fire Prevention & Safety programs for the next five years, this coming after an intense lobbying campaign by Congressional Fire Services Institute, amongst others (19). For anyone wishing to speak with experts on the military's Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) program, there will be a live program broadcast at 10 AM Eastern Daylight Time on April 30th in which a Public Affairs Officer from US Forest Service will be taking questions on the topic (20). Controlled burns will be conducted in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (21); while the next article, from the Department of Defense, profiles military air tankers which just completed training in South Carolina with MAFFS units (22). Our next item provides a brief introduction to the Florida Forest Service's Pinellas Fire Control Unit (23); and politicians in that state are trying to close a loophole in death benefits for firefighters killed during training, a group currently not covered under the federal Public Safety Officer Benefit (PSOB) program (24). Homeowners in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula are being advised to begin preparations for wildfire season as part of Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week (25). New hires at British Columbia, Canada's, 70 Mile Volunteer Fire Department got their baptism of fire just two days after completing their training (26); but a wildfire burning in Alberta, Canada, near Whitecourt is in the process of being contained (27). A man is being charged under Manitoba's Wildfires Act in regards to a bridge near Winnipeg that was destroyed by a fire he set (28); this coming at a time when the provincial fire agency in Ontario reminds readers of the penalties for starting wildfires (29). New Brunswick is using the latest technology to help in their battle against wildfires (30); but eighteen lawsuits have been filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in regards to a wildfire that burned outside of Halifax last spring (31). Miles of gorse were scorched by deliberately-set wildfires in Northern Ireland (32); and three forest fires have been reported in a UK forest as that region records the driest April on record (33). As testimony continues before Australia's Royal Bushfire Commission, Victoria's Emergency Services Commissioner refuted suggestions that the 'stay or go' policy was a failure on Black Saturday (34); but an independent counsel has been brought in to examine Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation's firefighting efforts (35); while a timber company in Tasmania may be in trouble over some unauthorized controlled burns (36). And finally, it was firefighters to the rescue in Syracuse, New York, after some ducklings tumbled into a storm drain!
(1) Award-winning photograph
(2) California Fire Alliance Receives Grant to Help Reach Homeowners Before Peak Wildfire Season
(3) Wildfire season could be bad; prescribed burns begin
(4) Umatilla fire forces nearly 40 families to evacuate
(5) Kaibab fire crews to ignite slash piles today
(6) Horseshoe Fire Burning in Cimarron Canyon
(7) Grenade-like device just one more tool for firefighters
(8) Nebraska Army National Guard Simulates Putting Out Fires from Helicopter
(9) Crews put down fire near Wolf Creek
(10) Annual Wildland Firefighter Foundation Golf Scramble
(11) 'Red flag' warning for state fire danger issued in western Minnesota
(12) Wildfire danger reaches 'extreme' level in northern Minnesota
(13) Old Vermilion Trail Wildfire
(14) DNR: Dozens of wildfires on Minn. reservation are arson
(15) Arkansas Fire and Ice Wildland Firefighting Equipment Kit Distribution
(16) Wildfire warning issued for region
(17) More intentionally set grass fires quelled Down East
(18) Breeze, low humidity boost fire danger
(19) Senators Seek to Protect Firefighter Grants
(20) DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: Modular Airborne FireFighting System
(21) Forest Service will be conducting a prescribed fire
(22) Air Guard Trains for Firefighting Mission
(23) Pinellas history: Fire Control Unit keeps rural areas safe in 1950s
(24) Bill Would Provide Death Benefits To Firefighters Killed During Training
(25) With fire season started, time to get FireWise
(26) Wildfire near 70 Mile doused
(27) Ground Zero
(28) Charges laid after fire burns down bridge in RM of Roland
(29) Wednesday forest fire update
(30) Using technology to fight forest fires
(31) HRM, fire department sued for wildfire
(32) Dramatic scenes as community battled to contain gorse fires
(33) Tinderbox Forest of Dean up in flames
(34) Esplin defends stay or go policy
(35) DEC's bushfire efforts under review
(36) EPA to investigate Gunns burn-offs
(37) Firefighters work to rescue trapped ducks
A stunning photograph of the DC-10 in action on a wildfire in Southern California last year leads off Wildfire News Of The Day today (1); and a press release from State Farm Insurance announced a grant of $50,000 to help the California Fire Alliance educate homeowners on defensible space around their homes (2). The projected fire season for Central Oregon is shaping up to be grim (3); this coming at a time when dozens of families were evacuated from Umatilla due to a wildfire (4). Arizona's Kaibab National Forest will begin burning debris piles in preparation for fire season in the Grand Canyon State (5); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Dan Ware, Public Relations Coordinator/Fire Information Officer for New Mexico State Forestry, sent along a link to information about a wildfire burning in New Mexico's high country which was sparked by a powerline (6). The FIT-5, basically a firefighter grenade which has been highlighted in Wildfire NOTD previously, is being demonstrated in Texas, where it is hoped they can help understaffed volunteer fire departments better control structure fires until additional help can arrive (for more information, visit their website) (7). The Nebraska Army National Guard conducted simulations at Mead Training Center in preparation for wildfire season (8); and a 100-acre wildfire was snuffed by Montana firefighters near Wolf Creek last night (9). A charity golf event will be held at Devils Tower in Hulett, Wyoming, to benefit Wildland Firefighter Foundation, an organization that supports families of injured and fallen wildland firefighters (10). The National Weather Service invoked a 'Red Flag' warning yesterday across Western Minnesota due to the extreme wildfire danger (11); as well as the northern part of the state (12); even as firefighters battled a blaze near the Old Vermilion Trail (13); and as if firefighters didn't already have enough to do, someone appears to be setting fires on an Indian reservation in northeastern Minnesota! (14) Arkansas's governor was on hand to help with distribution of wildfire fighting equipment to firefighters in Greenbrier (15); but the National Weather Service also issued 'Red Flag' warnings for Pennsylvania and New Jersey (16). The Maine Forest Service received reports of several new wildfires that were deliberately set (17); not something firefighters in Maryland want to face, as ideal wildfire weather is being forecast for that state today (18). A bipartisan group of US Senators is backing the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2010 bill, which will authorize $950 million to fund the Assistance to Firefighter Grants, Safer Grants, and the Fire Prevention & Safety programs for the next five years, this coming after an intense lobbying campaign by Congressional Fire Services Institute, amongst others (19). For anyone wishing to speak with experts on the military's Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) program, there will be a live program broadcast at 10 AM Eastern Daylight Time on April 30th in which a Public Affairs Officer from US Forest Service will be taking questions on the topic (20). Controlled burns will be conducted in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley (21); while the next article, from the Department of Defense, profiles military air tankers which just completed training in South Carolina with MAFFS units (22). Our next item provides a brief introduction to the Florida Forest Service's Pinellas Fire Control Unit (23); and politicians in that state are trying to close a loophole in death benefits for firefighters killed during training, a group currently not covered under the federal Public Safety Officer Benefit (PSOB) program (24). Homeowners in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula are being advised to begin preparations for wildfire season as part of Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week (25). New hires at British Columbia, Canada's, 70 Mile Volunteer Fire Department got their baptism of fire just two days after completing their training (26); but a wildfire burning in Alberta, Canada, near Whitecourt is in the process of being contained (27). A man is being charged under Manitoba's Wildfires Act in regards to a bridge near Winnipeg that was destroyed by a fire he set (28); this coming at a time when the provincial fire agency in Ontario reminds readers of the penalties for starting wildfires (29). New Brunswick is using the latest technology to help in their battle against wildfires (30); but eighteen lawsuits have been filed with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court in regards to a wildfire that burned outside of Halifax last spring (31). Miles of gorse were scorched by deliberately-set wildfires in Northern Ireland (32); and three forest fires have been reported in a UK forest as that region records the driest April on record (33). As testimony continues before Australia's Royal Bushfire Commission, Victoria's Emergency Services Commissioner refuted suggestions that the 'stay or go' policy was a failure on Black Saturday (34); but an independent counsel has been brought in to examine Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation's firefighting efforts (35); while a timber company in Tasmania may be in trouble over some unauthorized controlled burns (36). And finally, it was firefighters to the rescue in Syracuse, New York, after some ducklings tumbled into a storm drain!
(1) Award-winning photograph
(2) California Fire Alliance Receives Grant to Help Reach Homeowners Before Peak Wildfire Season
(3) Wildfire season could be bad; prescribed burns begin
(4) Umatilla fire forces nearly 40 families to evacuate
(5) Kaibab fire crews to ignite slash piles today
(6) Horseshoe Fire Burning in Cimarron Canyon
(7) Grenade-like device just one more tool for firefighters
(8) Nebraska Army National Guard Simulates Putting Out Fires from Helicopter
(9) Crews put down fire near Wolf Creek
(10) Annual Wildland Firefighter Foundation Golf Scramble
(11) 'Red flag' warning for state fire danger issued in western Minnesota
(12) Wildfire danger reaches 'extreme' level in northern Minnesota
(13) Old Vermilion Trail Wildfire
(14) DNR: Dozens of wildfires on Minn. reservation are arson
(15) Arkansas Fire and Ice Wildland Firefighting Equipment Kit Distribution
(16) Wildfire warning issued for region
(17) More intentionally set grass fires quelled Down East
(18) Breeze, low humidity boost fire danger
(19) Senators Seek to Protect Firefighter Grants
(20) DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable: Modular Airborne FireFighting System
(21) Forest Service will be conducting a prescribed fire
(22) Air Guard Trains for Firefighting Mission
(23) Pinellas history: Fire Control Unit keeps rural areas safe in 1950s
(24) Bill Would Provide Death Benefits To Firefighters Killed During Training
(25) With fire season started, time to get FireWise
(26) Wildfire near 70 Mile doused
(27) Ground Zero
(28) Charges laid after fire burns down bridge in RM of Roland
(29) Wednesday forest fire update
(30) Using technology to fight forest fires
(31) HRM, fire department sued for wildfire
(32) Dramatic scenes as community battled to contain gorse fires
(33) Tinderbox Forest of Dean up in flames
(34) Esplin defends stay or go policy
(35) DEC's bushfire efforts under review
(36) EPA to investigate Gunns burn-offs
(37) Firefighters work to rescue trapped ducks
Labels: air-tankers, bushfires, firefighting, forest fires, wildfire news, wildfire news of the day, wildfires
posted by Michael Archer @ 2:09 PM
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