WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 050110

In our first wildfire news item today, mayors and county supervisors in San Diego County, California, dispatched a letter to the governor asking for additional resources for wildfire preparedness (1); this at a time when CAL FIRE is highlighting the commencement of fire season throughout the state with Wildfire Awareness Week (2). Homeowners in Pennsylvania gave high marks to an airtanker pilot who helped squelch a hillside fire (3); and a small wildfire also burned a few miles away in Potter Township (4). Firefighters in the northern part of Florida had a swamp fire contained, but fear it could reignite due to the unusually warm weather (5); and a photo spread shows firefighters battling a grass fire in the state capital of Michoacán, Mexico (6). British Columbia's Williams Lake Airtanker Base will be getting nearly $1 million in facility improvements from the Canadian and provincial government just in time for wildfire season (7); which is probably a good plan because Prince George is reporting a busy start to the fire season! (8) An update on the fire situation in Ontario shows that the province has already had a busy fire season, with 66 blazes reported to date (9); including at least one new one today (10). Even though Newfoundland's fire season doesn't officially begin until May 15, that eastern Canadian province has already seen seven fires, and dry conditions make it likely that they'll see more (11). The Australian Royal Bushfire Commission has called the retiring Country Fire Authority Chief Officer back for another grilling (12); and the former Police Commissioner, who has also come under intense scrutiny, was touring bushfire-hit areas as the rebuilding effort continues (13); but several philanthropists who donated money to help with the rebuilding are critical of the progress it has made under her leadership (14). A school in Marysville that was badly damaged by the Black Saturday bushfires has reopened (15); but another bushfire-hit community would rather just forget that the whole thing happened (16). South Australia's zero-tolerance approach to bushfire arson led to the arrests of more than 220 individuals during the past fire season (17); but Country Fire Service has been compelled to retool their bushfire warning system to make it less confusing (18). Having spent $6.5 million on aerial assets for the bushfire season, Western Australia is standing down their air-tanker fleet as the fire season ends (19). And finally, we finish today with an item from my Military.com column about the organization that operates the DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker (VLAT).

(1) San Diego Officials Urge Schwarzenegger To Bolster Firefighting Resources

(2) CAL FIRE Kicks off Wildfire Awareness Week

(3) Air tanker helps douse wildfire

(4) Forest fire in Potter Twp. burns five acres

(5) 95-acre wildfire contained but could reignite

(6) Intense forest fire in Morelia, Mexico

(7) Upgrade announced for Williams Lake Airtanker base

(8) Fire season starts out hot

(9) Forest fire hazard will drop as rains continue

(10) One new forest fire burns near the Sault

(11) Forest fire season starts on dry note

(12) CFA chief to face second bushfire questioning

(13) Nixon tours bushfire-affected areas

(14) Bushfire rebuilding a failure

(15) $5.5m school opens in bushfire-hit Marysville

(16) Fire’s victims want to forget

(17) Hundreds of would-be arsonists nabbed

(18) Catastrophic confusion leads to Country Fire Service warnings review

(19) Choppers stood down as fire season ends

(20) Exciting Job for Vets With Specialized Skills